Changes
by Aro
Summary: --COMPLETE!--epilogue up!-- “And if you leave..” She bit down on her lower lip. “I won’t even say it.” “Tryin’ to make me feel bad?” “Yes. Is it workin’?” In response, he laughed, which wasn’t the answer she was looking for.
1. Discoveries Part 1

           ***

           Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

           __

           "You're goin' to get some sort of cancer if you keep this up." Eighteen-year-old Rogue Darkholme said leaning against a wall in the boy's bathroom. Her head hung low, causing her white fringes to fall in front of her face. She looked up at, Remy Lebeau, and cleared her throat.

           "You really can't make it a habit to be in here, Rogue." He mumbled, finishing up the cigarette that was placed between his lips. When he was finished, he simply flung the remains into a trashcan. 

           "You can set the 'can on fire, y'know." Her grey-green eyes shifted from him to the trashcan. 

She was now standing up straight, almost ready to get out of there.

           "What are you? A girl scout?" He asked, walking towards the door. When he reached it, he cautiously stopped right in front of it and waited for her. He knew what she was doing; splattering water in the trashcan. Why was she doing it? Now that, he didn't know. He was caught off guard when someone smacked him across the back of his head. "What was that for?" He asked, turning around, rubbing the back of his head. His eyes met hers.

           "Don't call me a girl scout." She stated, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And it wasn't that hard of a hit." She gently ran her hand down the side of his arm. "C'mon, we're goin' to be late for class." Before he could open his mouth to say something, she stopped him. "Shut up."

           A smirk formed on his lips as they left the bathroom. His arm carelessly wrapped around her waist as they walked down the hall. "I have a feelin' some day you're going to be a spandex wearing crime fightin' super-hero."

           "Really?" She arched a brow, not amused. "What are my _super powers_ going to be, Mr. Lebeau?"

           With his free hand, he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Super strength and un-natural flyin' abilities." He gave her side a slight squeeze.

           "I see you've gotten back to your regular self." Rogue said, as they reached their classroom. His smirk disappeared. "Still gettin' over Bella, eh?"

           He gave her a hurt expression. "You promised never to bring up her name again." His voice was low as they entered the empty classroom. "I just want to forget about her."

           "You're really goin' to forget about your ex-fiancée who broke your heart?"

           He shot her a look. "No. But I can try. As long as _someone_ doesn't keep bringin' her up."

           "Don't worry. I'll make sure no one does.." He heard her say right as the bell rang and all the seniors started hurrying into the classroom.

           ***

           "P.E. is a useless class." Rogue mumbled, bending down to tie her shoelaces. When she stood up, she blew a strand of white hair out from her eyes and walked out towards the field. 

           "Mein Gott!" She spun around to see the dark blue haired guy that sat across from her in Biology standing a few feet behind her. A brunette stood next to him, holding a bat, upside down. "It's hot out here." He explained, sighing heavily. Rogue just raised a brow. She didn't think it was hot out at all. 

           "You're the pitcher." An arm swung around her waist and a ball was shoved into her stomach. "Make us proud, Roguey."

           "Can I throw it at your head?" She asked, taking the ball. She griped it tightly; a smirk was placed upon her face.

           "Maybe later." Remy said into her ear. She felt him give her hip a squeeze before he retracted his arm and moved out into the outfield. She dragged her feet over to the pitcher's mound. The first batter on the opposing team got to bat, it was the German guy who was complaining about the weather. "Pitcher's got a big butt!" Remy shouted in a sing-a-long voice. "But I'm not complain'!" He added, before she had a chance to chuck the ball at him. 

           "Stop the flirting and gets get to the game." The P.E. teacher yelled, standing next to the gate with his arms crossed.

           "How about we just stop the game?" Rogue asked, dropping the ball. 

           "I'm all for that!" The brunette that had been holding the bat upside down agreed with excitement. She stepped out of line. A few people started to groan while most of the girls started to cheer, and agree. "I don't feel like breaking another nail."

           "Then maybe you'd like to break a nail in detention." The teacher said coldly as he glared at the young student.

           "Actually, baseball isn't that bad of a game. I'll just glue my nail back on later." She muttered, getting back into line. Rogue picked up the ball, and swung it at the batter. She missed completely. The ball flew too far to the left and hit the fence. 

           "Nice arm." A chorus of people from behind her mumbled sarcastically, along with "Nice aim."

"My kind of girl." _Someone_ joked, causing a few others to burst out laughing.

           The German guy got the ball and gently threw it back to Rogue. She attempted it again, and swung the ball hard. She let go of it too soon and it flew behind her. With wide eyes, she turned around to see Remy holding the ball. 

           ***

           Remy sat against a tree, trying to finish his essay for English. It was due today and it was his next class. He soon finished it up, using a few words in French for the conclusion since the essay was about his life back in Louisiana. He had just moved to Bayville, New York with Rogue and her foster mother months earlier, before school started. It hadn't been his choice; his father suggested he get out of New Orleans for a while, to get over Bella Donna. The Cajun closed his notebook and sighed heavily just as someone sat down next to him. 

           "Want to skip ninth period?" Rogue asked, taking his notebook away from him. She opened it up, skimmed a few pages until she reached the last page he had written on. 

           "Not really." He took his notebook away from her. "For once I am handing somethin' in time for English. What happened to your girl scout ways?"

           "I'm not always such a girl scout." She murmured, suddenly putting her hand on his shoulder. She moved in, sitting on his lap. She moved in even closer. "I have other sides, too y'know." 

           He smirked and placed his hands on her hips. "I know. It's just great seein' you express them." 

           "Too bad you won't ever get past that." She removed his hands and slowly got off him. "Anyway, you still up for skipping ninth period?" Rogue asked, running a hand down his arm. 

           "I never was up for it."

           "You'll smoke in the bathroom but not skip a period?"

           He thought about it. "Alright. Lets go."

           ***

           Rogue leaned against Remy as they drove back to the school. He raised a brow as he felt her hand slip into an inside pocket of his trench coat. When he finally figured out what she was doing, she already pulled back and flung his carton of cigarettes out the window. "You're goin' to pay for those." He tried not to take his eyes off the road.

           "Who's goin' to make me?" She asked, slightly smirking. 

           "Me." She tried not to laugh. She bit down on her lower lip as she tried to keep in the laughter but it didn't work. A short laugh escaped followed by another laugh. "Somethin' funny?"

           She moved over closer to him, wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I can get out of anythin' with you, Mr. Lebeau." She whispered into his ear. The warmth of her breath sent chills down his spine. 

           "Bella was right." He stated. He felt her remove her arm from around his shoulders with the mention of his ex-fiancées name. "You do have me tied around your little finger."

           "O' course I do. Ten years of friendship does that to a person, Rem-Rem." She said, giving him a small smile with the use of the old nickname she had given him. "Just waitin' for you to disown me." By now they were only a block away from the school.

           He grunted. "As if I could ever do that. You'd come runnin' right back to me. You're my pet, Ro'. _I own you_."

           "We'll see who owns who."

           ***

           Irene Addler was sitting on her couch when the vision came to her. A vision from the future. She let out a short gasp after seeing the horrible image. She reached into her pocket, grabbing her cell phone. She knew she had to make sure Rogue was kept away from Remy.

           ***

           Remy sat in his tenth period class, which was his last. He felt half startled when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck. Rogue wasn't in this class.

           "I gave him your English essay and told him you were going to miss his class for a 'family emergency.'" A female said into his ear as she slowly unwrapped her arms around from his neck. "Why weren't you in there anyway, Remy?"

           "Had things to do." He said as she got into the seat in front of him. She had shoulder length brown hair that was as straight as straw. He barely knew her, and didn't even know her name, but when he saw her walking down the hall before he left, he remembered she was in his English class and asked her to turn in his paper. 

           "So, in other words you skipped?"

           "_Oui_."

           She giggled. "I love it when you speak Spanish."

           He suddenly wondered if her IQ was higher than her shoe size. "That wasn't Spanish, petite. That was good ol' French."

           "You're French?" She gasped, astonished. She stared admiringly into his brown eyes. "That is so cool. I wish I could speak French." She gave him a wide, big grin. "But all I can do is _French kiss_."

           "It's a good exercise for your tongue." He smirked, trying not to roll his eyes. He wasn't a fan of shameless flirting but she did do him a favor. Before neither of them would utter another word, the bell rang and students started arriving in the classroom.

           Duncan Matthews stood in the back of the classroom, glaring at the back of Remy's head. 

           ***

           When the bell rang, Remy never felt so relieved. The girl in front of him, Taryn, he discovered her name was, kept passing him notes. He had seven stuffed in his pocket. He quickly got out of seat and left the room.

           "Remy wait up!" The brunette called, running up to him. She gave him a toothy smile. "Didn't you get my notes?"

           "Notes?" He blinked dumbly. "What notes?"

           "The ones I flung at your head."

           "Oh! Those.."

           "Taryn, come on! We're going to be late." A blonde said, pulling her away from Remy. He waited until they disappeared down the hall until he left out a sigh of relief.

           "Leave Taryn alone." A voice snapped as the hallway got empty. A blonde haired guy walked towards Remy. An angry scowl was present on his face.

           "No problem, _homme_." 

           "And stop using that stupid language."

           _At least he didn't call it Spanish. _Remy said thoughtfully to himself. "If you say so."

           Duncan stared at him, dumbly. "Are you trying to start something?"

           "No.."

           "Do you want a piece of me!?"

           "Not particularly.." 

           "You got a smart mouth, you know that, Le-stupid."

           Remy smirked, amused. "If you say so."

           "I can get you in so much trouble. And that skunk-head girl. For skipping English. That's a demerit right there."

           The Cajun glared at him. "Who are you?" He paused as he realized how much he was craving a cigarette. 

           "Your worst nightmare!" He yelled, suddenly charging at Remy. He pinned him up against the wall, clutching his collar. Remy just smirked. "I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face!" Unfortunately, Duncan didn't know much about Remy's past. With one quick movement, he brought his arm up, and with two fingers he jabbed Duncan in the neck. He let go, and stumbled back, surprised. After taking a deep breath he charged at Remy, raising his fist. Before his fist even got close to him, someone shoved him hard. He fell to the ground. 

           "You tryin' to pick a fight with someone who can beat the crap out of you, Matthews?" Rogue stood there, giving the male a look. "Not a good idea."

           "Shut up, Skunk-head!"

           "Ooh, that's original." Rogue smirked with an eye roll. "Thank you for sharin' your intelligence with me."

           "Ready to go, _chérie_?" Remy asked, without giving Duncan another look. He slipped an arm into hers and they turned to walk down the hall. Dun growled as he quickly got to his feet. He charged at the two, grabbing Rogue's wrist. He pulled her against him then pushed her hard against a locker and then glared at Remy.

           "This isn't over." 

           "You got that right." He said coldly, glancing at Rogue who was rubbing her wrist. With his book clutched in one hand, he grabbed Duncan by the collar and slammed him against the locker, only two inches away from where Rogue was standing. "You ever touch her again and I will kill you."

           Duncan grinned at him, as if he had discovered a weakness. "What? She's your girlfriend and you spent practically off of your last class flirting with my Taryn?"

           "I wouldn't flirt with Taryn if she were more intelligent than a box of rocks." He spat into his face. "You two are perfect for each other. Together your IQs equal one." 

           "Just watch your back, Le-stupid. And the Skunk-heads, if you know what's good for you."

           "You better watch yours. Because I will break it." He griped his collar tighter. He glared at the male, and felt like poking his eyes out with pointy sticks. 

           "Lets go." He heard Rogue mumble, but he didn't listen. 

           "I'll make you think twice before ever threatening me or Rogue again." He snapped. Remy felt his heart racing, his pulse speeding. For some reason he felt like he was about to explode. His eyes flashed for second, the brown into a crimson red color and all the white flashed black. Duncan noticed.

           "Y-you're a freak!" He shoved Remy back and staggered down the hall. "Stay away from me, you freak." Again, Remy felt a wave of anger rush through him, making his blood boil. 

           "Remy.." He heard Rogue whisper from behind. "What are you doin'?" He slowly turned around to see her startled, wide eyes. "Oh.. my.." He felt like his body temperature rose, like he was burning up. Her eyes trailed down to his books, which were now a glowing red color. "Drop them!" She yelled, "Now!" And he did. They landed between them, and in less than a minute, the textbook and notebook exploded. It was the last thing he remembered seeing.

           ***

           "I'm too late." Irene realized as got to the school. The loud explosion could be heard. She looked down, knowing the future wasn't going to good; for it had taken an unexpectedly turn.

           __

           _Part 1 complete: November 22, 2003_


	2. Discoveries Part 2

             ***

             Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

             __

             Ever touch the stove when your mother told you not to? When she was cooking something on the stovetop? Curiosity always got the best of you, and the bold reaction of doing something when told not to, and you would touch the stovetop and burn your flesh. 

             Even in his unconscious state, Remy felt like the flesh covering his hands was burning. He felt like he had done something wrong, like he had touched the stovetop and left his hands there. By the time he reached a conscious state, the burning sensation had slowly started to fade away. 

             When he opened his eyes, the world to him was blurry. Every time he blinked, he could feel a dull pain in his forehead. He stared up at a white ceiling, which made the surroundings look unfamiliar. He attempted to sit up, only to realize every muscle in his body felt like lead. He felt shaky as he tried to remember what had happened, and that didn't help the throbbing pain located in his head.

             "I see you're up." A gentle male voice said. He turned his head to see a furry blue man, who looked like a blue gorilla, standing less than a foot away from the bed he was rested upon. The man just chuckled at the reaction. "My name is Hank McCoy. I believe you're Remy.." He looked down at a chart he was holding with his large hand. "Lebeau." He looked up at him and smiled. "Welcome to Xavier's institute."

             "Institute?" The Cajun asked, uncertain. He just stared at Hank as if he were insane. "I'm in a institute? Asylum?"

             "Not quite, Mr. Lebeau." The impact of the spoke words hit him hard. Reality soon set in and he remembered what had happened.

             "Rogue—" He asked, feeling his heart start to race. "Where is Rogue?" He looked around the room, as if to see her somewhere in there. "_Where is she_?" He raised his voice, he became angry. Before Hank could say anything, he let out a short cry of pain and looked down at his hands. They were a glowing red. "What's happenin' to me?" The pain became unbearable, he felt as if his hands were about to explode. 

             "Take this." Hank handed him a pen from his chart. "Just release the energy into it." The young man did as ordered. He placed the pen behind his hands. The glowing color went from his hands to the pen. "Throw it, now!" And he did. Within a few seconds the pen exploded. Remy just sat there, confused on what was happening. 

             "Welcome to my institute, Remy." A bald man, in a wheelchair, wheeled into the room. 

             "An institute for _what_?"

             "Mutants." 

             Remy stared at the man as if he had grown hair, or another head. "Screw this, I'm goin' back to bed."

             ***

             Irene just stood there as the man placed her suitcase into the black limo outside her house. _Don't have much time. _She realized, the visions circulating inside her head. _I must get out there as quickly as possible. _

             "Why are you leaving, _Destiny_? This wasn't our deal." A black cat walked over to her, stood next to her feet and transformed into a blue skinned woman. She had red hair and white eyes, no pupils. 

             "The future has changed its course." The blind woman explained, looking straight ahead. "There's nothing we can do now, Mystique."

             "How is she?" Mystique hissed through clenched teeth. "You said this move would be better. I even let you bring that, t-that stupid Cajun with you and—"

             "That 'Stupid Cajun' will play a big role in Rogue's future."

             "So she's going to be okay?"

             "Not for long."

             ***

             "I can help you control your powers." Charles Xavier said, sitting across from Remy who just stared down at Xavier's hands, which formed a steeple like structure. It distracted him. "But it is your decision. I'd prefer it if you stayed here until you at least could control your powers." He smiled at him. "You do have an incredible gift."

             "_Gift_?" Remy spat, with a smirk. "Sure, if that's what you want to call it."

             "Maybe you would like to look into a mirror." A young woman, with vibrant red hair, walked over to where Remy was sitting. A mirror was clutched in her hand. 

             "Why?" He asked, staring at her. "Did I grow a third eye? _Lose my hair_? Grow another head?" 

             She frowned at him. "You could have a better attitude."

             "Well, Maybe if someone would tell me—"

             "Calm down." Xavier cut him off. "Your powers are connected with your emotions right now."

             "Then if you don't tell me where Rogue is I _will_ blow his place up." He smirked when Jean rolled her eyes. "Don't believe me?" He lowered his voice and looked down at his hands. "Try me."

             "She was hurt in the explosion." Xavier said, hesitating. "While you survived with only a gash on your forehead—" He pointed to Remy's forehead, where the cut was stitched up. "She suffered a head injury." 

             Remy just stared at him. He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. "Where is she?"

             "Bayville hospital."

             "I'm out of here." He walked towards the door. Jean grabbed his arm, to stop him, but he jerked away. "Don't touch me."

             "Wait—" She called again. This time he stopped. She handed him the mirror. He sighed as he brought it up, face level. He dropped the mirror. It fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

             "What happened to me?"

             "It's a part of your mutation. I believe your powers—" 

             "I'm out of here."

             "Wait--!" The red head called out again. She took out a pair of sunglasses from her pocket and telekinetically flew them over to him. They bounced off the back of his head. He turned around and stared down at them. He picked up the sunglasses and slipped them on. __

***

             "What room is Rogue Darkholme in?" Remy asked, walking up to the service desk. 

             The woman behind the desk typed on her keyboard. She glanced at the screen and then at him. "She's located in ICU. If you want to know what room, you have to go up there."

             "Yeah, okay." He mumbled, walking away from the desk. He stopped when he got to the elevator. "Floor?" He asked.

             "Third." She called back.

             ***

             "What room is Rogue Darkholme in?" Remy asked a nurse the minute he got onto the third floor. The nurse walked over to the service station and glanced at a few charts.

             "She's restricted on visitors. Her guardian, Irene Addler, requested them. What's your name?"

             "Remy." With his mind racing, he had to think about his last name. "Lebeau."

             "Ah, yes. She left a note for you." She handed him a folded sheet of white paper. "I'll be right back, I need to check on a patient."

             He shrugged at her words and opened the paper. He read the words carefully, '_Remy, I know what happened. Right now I think it is best if I leave. It's for the best. Not now, but in the near future, you will see why. Irene._' He read it over again, and mumbled a few words in French. How could she leave..?

             "I'll take you to her." The nurse he had seen earlier walked up behind him. "But please, only a few minutes." She brought him to a closed door and opened it up. The room was dark. The only thing that could be heard was a soft beeping noise. The nurse switched on the light, and when she did, Remy's heart stopped.

             Rogue laid on the bed, her eyes closed. Dark circled formed around her eyes. She had an I.V. attached to her arm, a liquid flowing into her. She was attached to a heart monitor, and some other machine he couldn't identify. She looked a lot paler than usual. She looked so lifeless, Remy noticed; she looked so young. 

             "Merde." He mumbled, shaking his head. "Mon dieu. Her condition.."

             "Coma." The nurse said, feeling surprised as she looked up at him. "You didn't know?" 

             "Well, I do now." He snapped, walking closer to her. He wanted to held her hand, but when he reached for it, his mind screamed at him, telling him that he was the blame for this, he put her here, that he would hurt her again. 

             "It's okay." The woman smiled at him. 

             "No." He turned around, avoiding eye contact with her. "It's not." With a heavy sigh, he left the room.

             ***

             He had no place to go. Irene was gone, and he didn't have a home in New Orleans anymore. The realization of it hit Remy as he walked down the street in the rain. The image of Rogue was still fresh in his mind. He tore off the sunglasses and threw them on the ground. He sighed and ran a hand through his wet hair. He didn't have any other choice then to go back to Xavier's institute.

             ***

             "This is your room." Xavier announced, stopping in front of a closed door. Remy just stared at the door, remembering when the door to where Rogue was had been opened. "Go ahead." Charles smiled up at him. Ororo, an African American woman with white hair, stood behind the Professor carrying a rectangle shaped box.  Remy hesitated as he opened the door and walked into the room. It looked more like a guest room, with a bed, dresser, closest, but it had a balcony. He smirked at that. "Now that you're a part of this school, I hope you will obey the rules." Xavier said, eyeing the smirk. 

             "_Oui_, of course." He remembered that Xavier was a telepath, and you couldn't really lie to them. 

             "This is your uniform." Ororo smiled at him as she handed him the box. He set it down on the bed and opened it. He took it out and made a face. It was a dark blue color with red shoulder pads that had a black X sewn on. There was a yellow belt in the box, the buckle had the same pattern.

             "_Spandex_?" He said, touching the material. A memory from just the other day flooded his mind. _"I have a feelin' some day you're going to be a spandex wearing crime fightin' super-hero." He set it back down in the box. "Sorry, but I can't wear that."_

             "I understand." Xavier said just as Jean entered the room wearing her uniform. "You will also have danger room sessions every morning, twice a day on weekends."

             "They're not so bad." Jean smiled at him but it faded when Remy gave her a bizarre look.

             "Why are you wearin' a thong outside the spandex?" He asked, feeling confused as he stared at the green triangle going down her uniform. 

             She glared at him, offended. "My name is Jean Grey." He realized she was the red head from earlier. "What happened to the sunglasses?" He also noticed she avoided any actual eye contact with him.

             He shrugged, remembering how he threw them down outside in the rain. "Lost 'em."

             "Oh well. They were Scott's. He really can't use those kind anyway." 

             "Scott?"

             "You will meet the others before dinner." Xavier said, looking down at his watch. "Which will be in a half hour. We'll leave you alone, let you get settled in."

             Remy just grunted. At least he would be alone.

             ***

             A few of the mutants at dinner looked familiar. He recognized the German kid and the perky Brunette from P.E.

             "You're the guy from my gym class! My name is Kitty!" She grinned at him, holding out her hand over the dinner table. 

             "Don't scare him, Kitty." Jean said, with a forced laugh. She looked around the table. Mostly everyone had introduced himself or herself. "So, Remy, how was your friend?"

             Remy looked up from his plate at her. "She's in a coma."

             "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope she wakes up soon."

             "If she doesn't, that means I killed her."

             Before Jean could say anything else, Xavier stopped her. "You didn't expect your powers to manifest. It isn't your fault. I'm sure she will be fine."

             "And if she isn't?" His red eyes started to glow. If Rogue died, he was a killer. He killed his best friend. His only friend. The one person who truly cared about him.

             "Remy, your fork!"

             He looked down to see his fork glowing with kinetic energy. He threw it up in the air, a few students scrambled to get out of their seats. Jean set up a telekinetic shield to block the ones at the table from the small explosion. Remy jolted up from the table.

             "I'm goin' to my room." No one said anything.

             ***

             No one bothered him for the rest of the night. For that, he was glad. It was the last thing he wanted. He just laid on his bed, on top of the covers. He wasn't an X-Men. He didn't want to wear any stupid spandex uniform. It just wasn't him. The Cajun just laid there, his arms folded behind his head. It wasn't until about eleven o'clock when there came a knocking at his door. The woman with the white hair, Ororo, he believed her name was, walked in.

             "Charles would like to see you."

             ***

             "_Oui?" He asked, dragging his feet into Xavier's office. "You want somethin', __homme?"_

             "I have news about your friend."

             His heart skipped a beat. "And?"

             "She's gained consciousness." He smiled at him. "The swelling of her brain went down. She's going to be okay."

             __

             _Part 2 complete: November 23, 2003___


	3. Discoveries Part 3

           ***

           Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

           __

           "Care to play a game of chess with me, Remy?" Charles Xavier asked the young mutant the next morning. With some hesitation, Remy sat down across from him and started to set up the other side of the board. "Have you ever played before?"

           "_Oui_." His red eyes looked serious as he put the final piece, the Knight in its place. "My _père_ taught me how to play when I was a youngin'." Xavier gestured for him to make the first move. "He told me to—" He bite down on his lower lip as he tried to remember. "—to—" He repeated, "use the minor pieces first. Get 'em out of the way. That way, if they're taken away, I still have others." He sighed, barely remembering what his father had told him. 

           "Gambit?" The Professor asked, not fully understanding. Remy just shrugged and stood up.

           "I got to be goin' _monsieur_." He gave him a polite salute. He could tell the Professor already knew where he was going. 

           "Remy?" The Cajun glanced behind his shoulder as he reached for the knob on the door. "Be careful."

           ***

           Remy didn't ask anyone this time where Rogue's room was. He quietly walked to the room he had been in the day earlier and stepped in. He shut the door behind him. In the room, Rogue was still laying on the bed. I.V.s were still attached to her arm, and the heart monitor was still beeping. Hadn't the Professor said she gained consciousness? He walked over to her bed, and ran a finger down the side of her face.

           "'Ey _chérie_." He whispered to her. He was startled when her eyes opened. She just stared at him, a tired expression was written on her face.

           "Hiya." Her voice sounded more raspy than usual, and her voice was as low as a whisper. "Did ya get the license number of that truck that hit me?" The expression on her face was unreadable so she couldn't tell if she was kidding or not. After a minute of silence, he realized she was kidding. "Your eyes.." She blinked as she reached up and touched his face. "They're different."

           "Scared?" 

           "Never.." She mumbled. Her eyes started to close as she slowly drifted off into slumber. Her hand fell limply from his face and she just laid there. Asleep. He reached down and kissed the top of her forehead.

           "You've made me into a softy, Ro'." He stroked the side of her head, running his fingers through her white fringes. He just stood there for the next hour, staring down at her; watching her sleep. It wasn't until a nurse came in and yelled at him, when he finally left. 

           ***       

           Bella Donna. 

           He now shuddered and cringed every time he heard that name. He did learn to never piss of a trained assassin, but he loathed her. Everyone had told him that they were _fated_ to be together, to get married, to live a happy life together. 

           Now, he laughed at that. If he married her, he knew his life would be over. He was pressured into marrying her and almost did.

           Thanks to Rogue, he didn't. She made him realize that he didn't have to be forced to marry someone he didn't love, and barely knew. He and Bella were different in so many ways. 

           When he told her that he wasn't going to marry her, she just laughed and said good joke but it wasn't a joke. When she realized he was serious, she planned on making his life miserable. She had managed to turn his family against him.

           But they weren't his family. They were a family all right, but not _his_. Sure, they had taken him in when he was abandoned as an infant, named him, and treated him like he was truly a blood relative, but he wasn't. 

           Out of nowhere, when he was about ten years old, he got a new neighbor. A blind woman and a child. He had learned the woman was a mere foster parent for the young girl, and he befriended her. Over the years, they had created a bond. A bond of friendship. 

           That was one thing he never regretted.

           ***

           "I have news for you, Magneto." A blue skinned woman stood in the doorway of an office. "Professor Xavier has recruited a new mutant."

           "What is so special about this one?" He asked, as she waltzed over to his desk and slipped him a picture. 

           "He has true potential. Once he learns to fully control his powers, that is." 

           Magneto smirked. "If you care this much, he must have something to do with Rogue."

           She glared at him. "He won't last long with Xavier, Mag_nus_. He'd make a good addition to your team. He is one who won't betray you."

           "How do you know that?"

           "Destiny." And with that word, everything was left said for itself. 

           ***

           A smirk was spread across his face as he kicked the bag with a round kick and then did a counter. He hadn't worked out in months. His father would lynch him if he had found that out. He kicked the bag again, this time with a sidekick. He worked on a few combinations but after awhile, he slowed down the pace and just stopped all together. 

           "You missed your first training session." The red head, Jean, stood in the doorway of the gym. "They're important, you know."

           "I don't need 'em."

           "I think you do."

           His smirk faded. "You goin' to make me?"

           "No." He had almost stumped her. "You're blocking me out of your thoughts."

           "Don't go in places you're not allowed, Red."

           "How?" She asked, taking a step forward. "Is it a part of your mutation?"

           "Keepin' you out of my head?" He chuckled. "That is for me to know, and for you to never find out, _petite_." 

           "If you want to be a part of the X-Men, you have to go to the danger room meetings and training sessions."

           "I never said I wanted to be an X-_Man_."

           "You're just using us for a free bed and breakfast?" She asked, disgusted. 

           His smirk reappeared. "See? You don't need to be in my head to know what I'm thinkin' or doin'."

           She frowned at him. "I can't believe you."

           "That, _mon ami_, is because you don't know me."

           "We could get to know each other." She smiled at him, not fully understanding what he had meant. "While we help you on your powers of course."

           "_You_'re going to help _me_ with my powers?" He almost laughed. "I don't need _your_ help." And with those words, he left the gym.

           ***

           He hated knowing that Rogue was laying in a hospital bed, alone. Not in the ways you would think. Knowing that visitation hours were over by seven, he got there at six. When he walked into her room, she was awake.

           "How ya feelin'?" He asked but in response she held her arms out for a hug. After a tight, and short hug, he broke the embrace. 

           "Pretty good. 'Cept for a headache." She gave him a small smile as she stared up and into his eyes. "You're a mutant." She reached up and gently touched the side of his face. "Irene called me." He made a face, which made her laugh. "Did ya know my birth momma was a mutant?"

           Remy just stared down at her, wondering what kind of drugs she was on. "Non, didn't know that, _chérie_."

           "My biological father wasn't a mutant though. Do you think your parents were mutants?" He just shrugged. "Aw, Am I makin' Mista Lebeau uncomfortable?" She retracted her hand and crossed her arms. "Rem? What did happen the other day?"

           "My powers.. they manifested." He shook his head. "I could've killed you."

           "It's not your fault." She pointed to the stitched up cut on his forehead. "You got it worse than me."

           "I wasn't in a coma for over twenty-four hours."

           "Look on the bright side."

           His brows arched up underneath his bangs. "Bright side?"

           "I got to catch up on my sleep."

           "Har har har, Roguey, har har har." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow River rat."

           "Not if I see ya first, Swampy."

           ***

           Remy walked down the street, his mind still set on the Southern belle he had just visited. She seemed so different, and so did he. "Things change." He realized, looking down at his hands. 

           "Hey mate!" Before the Cajun knew it, flames surrounded him. They seemed to dance around him, in a mocking way. Laughter seemed to dance around with them. As fast as they appeared, the flames disappeared. Before Remy stood a young man, about the same age, with bright orange hair and he was wearing a red and orange body suit. A flamethrower was placed on his back. He had an orange visor on, covering his eyes. Remy was stunned. Stunned on why anyone would go out looking like _that_. "You're Remy, ain't ya?"

           "Who wants to know?" He asked, glaring at the other male. The weird clothed boy grinned at him; amusement was spread across his face. 

           "The name is Pyro. Do ye want to know why I'm call that?" He asked, grinning widely. "O' do ye want to find out for yourself?"

           "Down boy." A much larger built man stepped out from the shadows. Remy's lower jaw dropped. The man had a slight Russian accent and was sliver. SLIVER. He had white eyes, and looked to be nearly eight feet tall. When he walked, the ground shook. "My name is Colossus." 

           Suddenly, a growling noise could be heard as another man stepped out from the shadows. He wore shredded clothes and had an ugly cat appearance. Remy caught on to that.

           "Lemme guess." He pondered, quite sarcastically. "You're Fluffy?"

           "Haha! This guy is funny!" Pyro laughed, placing his hands on his stomach. "He's gonna have me in stitches soon!" His smile faded. "So you are Remy?"

           "_Oui_. Who wants to know?"

           Pyro frowned. "Isn't Remy a gal's name?"

           "Not in France."

           "We're not in France." His grin re-appeared. "Oi! I get it! You're French, aren't ya?"

           "He was deprived of oxygen at birth." The huge one, Colossus, explained. "We were sent here to find you."

           "Sent? By the Bald guy?" 

           He blinked dumbly. "No, Magneto."

           "Who-to?"

           "You guys are doing an awful job of recruiting." A womanly figure stepped out from the shadows. "Hello Remy."

           The confused Cajun scratched the back of his head. "Who are you brutes?"

           "We're just like you, mate! We're those bloody mutants people hate for screwin' up the gene pool!" 

           "We want you to join us."

           "I'm already with the crippled bald guy."

           "We can offer you more."

           "More _what_?"

           "Xavier will only help you control your powers. He won't allow gaining to maximum power." The blue skinned woman said, taking another step forward. "With us you shall become more powerful and with us, there are no rules. You won't stay with Xavier long. He has all his students—"

           "Whipped." Pyro finished, smirking. "With Maggie we can do whatever we want."

           "Screw this." Remy mumbled, turning around. "I'm out of here."

           "You'll come back." A familiar voice said. He slowly turned around to see Irene standing besides the mutated woman. "I, too, am a mutant."

           "Mon dieu! Who here isn't a stupid mutant!?"

           "Rogue." Irene said dryly. "At least for now."

           "What do you mean.. 'for now'?" She now had his full attention.

           "Rogue will manifest her powers some day. The only reason she hasn't is because of the connection between you too. You've always been a mutant, Remy. It was your power that made you too have such a special bond. We need to break that bond."

           "What?" He asked, cocking a brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

           "As long as you and Rogue are together, her powers will not manifest."

           "Ain't that a good thing?"

           "No. She has the genes of a mutant. If she doesn't manifest her power soon, her genes will manifest on their own and end up killing her in the process." *

           "W-what can I do about it?"

           "Join us."

           "How is that goin' to help?"

           "If you join, we leave New York. Our base is located back in Louisiana."

           "So I have to leave Rogue?" He asked in disbelief. "She needs me."

           "You're not helping her right now." The blue skinned woman said. "We'll come back, in a few months after her powers manifest." _Maybe. _She thought. "If you stay here, the bond will be connected. It needs to be broken."

           "So what do ya say?" Pyro asked staring at him from behind the orange tinted visor. "You in o' you out?"

           "In." Remy sighed, defeated. "But I must say good bye to Rogue."

           "Of course." Irene said. "Of course. Everything might be confusing now Remy, but some day, you will see."

           "Haha!" Pyro suddenly laughed. "_See_. Pun! The blind gal is a funny twit too!"

           ***

           _You're gettin' yourself into a mess, Cajun. _Remy said to himself as he walked into Rogue's room the next day. She was sitting up, as if she were waiting for him. 

           "I looked into a mirror today." She pointed to her face. Dark circles were still slightly encircled around her eyes. "I look like hell."

           "But you look like in the hospital scrub attire." He smirked down at her. "And hey, look on the bright side, you can't get any paler."

           "Aw, you sure know how to make a girl feel loved." She said in a bored, sarcastic tone. "I have low self-esteem."

           "Always have."

           "I'm goin' to ignore that." She crossed her arms and looked up at him. "Your eyes seem so natural."

           "Are you joshin' me?"

           "I like it."

           "Almost as much as your multi-colored hair?"

           "It's natural!" She snapped in defense. "You should know that by now."

           "Ever wonder why you were born with white and brown hair?"

           She shrugged. "Screw up genes? Maybe I inherited from my biological mother."

           "Rogue?" He suddenly cut her off before she could utter another word. The expression on his face was serious. "We need to talk."

           ***

           "How does the future look?"

           "Planned out."

           "We did save her, right?"

           "From her powers yes. But there are things we cannot save her from, Mystique." Her friend looked at her, wanting to know more. "She will face rejection for being different. Her whole life is going to change. She's going to become more distant, and isolate herself from everyone."

           "Where exactly does Remy fit in with all of this?"

           "Once he leaves with us in a few hours, his part will be finished. His empathetic connection with her will dissolve, leaving her vulnerable for her powers to manifest." 

           "Wouldn't that be a good time to recruit her?"

           "She's better off with the X-Men. She needs the training. They will help her with the issue on having her mutation. But in the end.. I see.. I see.."

           "You see what, Destiny?" Mystique soon became angry at the silence coming from her partner. "Tell me!"

           "The future is cloudy." She said after another minute of silence. "I will end it at that."

           ***

           He had told her everything. About the X-Men and the offer. He just left everything about her and Irene out. In the end, she just stared at him. A perfect 'O' shape was formed on her lips.

           "You're leavin'?" She asked, in disbelief. "You're leavin' _me_?"

           "It's for the best, Roguey."

           "Y-you can't!" She spat, almost yelling. "You told Bella--" He grimaced. "—that you would never leave me. You said that and she said it was over! Didn't you mean it?"

           "I did, but this is for the best."

           "Best for _who_?"

           "You. Just trust me on this one Roguey."

           "Don't call me that!" She yelled. Her face was flushed. "Just go. And don't come back." She reached behind her, grabbed her pillow and threw it at him. "_I hate you_."

           He clutched the pillow after he had caught it. "I'm sorry you feel that way." He wasn't sorry. The words were like a slap in the face. He suddenly felt a zapping pain through his hand and he looked down to see that he had charged the pillow up. He threw it up in the air and it exploded. Feathers went everywhere. In a single movement, he took a few feet forward, grabbed Rogue by her shoulders and kissed her. He felt her body tense up as he parted the one-way kiss. "Good bye Rogue."

           But there was no good in _good bye,_ now was there?

           ***

           _Part 3 completed: November 27, 2003_

  
           _A/N: Alright. There's still more to come and a lot more questions answered. The next segment (which will also be three chapters long) will be up sooner or later. It'll explain more about Remy, his past, how he decides to use cards and stuff like that. _

_           I'm not sure if I'll keep writing this fic. Even though I have many plots and ideas with it, I might take it off._

_           Oh well._

_           Read and review. :)_

_           -- Aro /3_


	4. Memories Part 1

            ***

            Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

            __

            Memories.

            Everyone has memories. Good memories, bad memories, memories of things they want to remember, some even they don't. Memories can be anything from what you had for dinner to breaking an arm. The point is; they are your memories. They tell about your past, they tell about the kind of person you are; they show things you've been through. They combine with your personality. Everything you are, everything you've done or want to do; your dreams on achieving everyday things to your actual dreams and nightmares.

            Imagine if in one touch, someone could absorb all your memories. With one touch of a finger, someone knows everything about you; they see everything you have seen, they know things you can't remember or your deepest darkest secrets just with the simple touch of skin-to-skin contact. 

            ***

            _I hate him. _Rogue walked down the street, a scowl was placed on her face. She didn't look happy; her eyes had a distant look in them. It had been nearly a week since he left her after nearly killing her with no explanation. Not a good one, at least. She brought her hand up to her mouth and ran a finger across her bottom lip. The scowl faded and she slightly blushed. _Why did he have to leave now?_ She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. _Remy…_

Anger suddenly filled in the distant expressionless look in her eyes. _If he weren't a mutant, this wouldn't have happened. _She unwrapped her arms and made tight fists as she continued to walk down the street. _Stupid mutants._

            "Rogue?" Rogue turned around to see a familiar brunette staring at her. It was the girl from school that hung out with the Germen kid. 

            "Yeah?" The Southern asked dryly, glancing in front of her, as if there were someone standing in front of her. She looked back at the brunette. "What do ya want?"

            "How are you doing?" 

            "Craptastic." Rogue said with no enthusiasm. 

            "Oh." She looked down at her feet and then back up at Rogue, giving her a small smile. "My name is Kitty."

            "That's nice." She crossed her arms over her chest. Her white fringes fell in front her face; she made to attempt to brush them away. "If ya don't mind, I have better stuff to do than stand here talking to a mutant." She said coldly, remembering how Remy had said how people could look normal and be a mutant.

            Kitty's eyes became wide. "You don't like mutants? _Why_? Remy is a mutant, you know. You don't have to—"

            "And because he's a mutant, he's gone." Rogue turned on her heel and quickly walked down the street. Kitty dashed forward to grab her arm, and almost immediately Rogue shoved her to the ground. "Leave me alone, _Kitty-cat_." She spat down at her and then went back on her way. 

            ***

            Rogue stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was now back at her house. Irene and Remy's belongings were gone. When she got home, she half expected to see Remy sitting at the kitchen table, eating something and Irene listening to the radio. But they weren't. They had left her. 

            _"It's for the best, Roguey."_ She shut her eyes tightly, not wanting to remember what had happened. But it wasn't that easy to forget. _If Irene is gone, then she must have something to do with Remy. She's probably a bloody mutant too! _Out of anger, and without realizing it, she made a swing at her reflection, shattering the mirror. Shards of glass fell lifelessly into the sink, while others flew in all sorts of directions. She kept her fist in the air. Blood dripped down from it, landing on the glass shards. 

            "He's gone." She said out loud, as if she were just realizing it. With her other hand, she made a fist and hit the broken mirror again, this time going through the thin wood and hitting the selves inside the cabinet. 

            A short sob escaped from her throat. _Don't cry Rogue, don't cry. _Another one came out, even louder. _Don't cry over the stupid Swamp rat. _She fell to her knees, hitting her face off the sink. She sunk onto the floor, laying on her back. She stared up at the ceiling, which had become blurry. _Once you let a tear escape more will come. Don't. Rogue, don't cry. _But it seemed like her brain and body didn't agree with each other as tears escaped from her eyes and a heavy sob erupted from her.

            She just laid there, allowing herself to cry. She allowed memories of her past to swirl around in her head, making even more tears fall. She felt heartbroken and vulnerable as she cried herself into a deep slumber. 

            ***

            She woke up hours later. Dried tearstains made her face feel weird. One fist laid in its own small puddle of blood, the cuts covering her fist had clotted up by now and her other hand was bruised and sore. _Goddammit_

She sat up and slid her way over to the tub. Ignoring the pain throbbing in her hands, she turned on the water, wanting to take a warm bath. After a minute of trying to stand up, she succeeded to and walked out of the bathroom and into her room. She picked out clothes and walked back into the bathroom. _I feel so empty. Like something is missing. But it's not something. It's someone. _A frown settled on her face as she stripped out of her clothing and sat into the bathtub as it continued to fill up with hot water.

***

            "By the looks of it, she doesn't know where Remy is." Kitty proclaimed rubbing her elbow. "She doesn't look very happy either."

            "You're lucky all she did was shove you." Hank McCoy said leaning down on his knuckles. "How's the arm?"

            "Just a small scrape." She said with a shrug. "Rogue just looks like she needs a friend. Even if she doesn't like mutants."

            "Just what we need, more mutant protestors." Kurt commented, shutting off his image inducer. 

            "Her friend manifested his powers and nearly killed her. She doesn't know any mutants." Kitty said, sticking up for the Southern. "I want to show her that being a mutant isn't bad."

            "What are you going to do?" Kurt asked, raising a brow. "Phase her halfway through the earth?" 

            "Kurt." Kitty snapped jumping off the table she was sitting on. "What's with your attitude change?"

            He shrugged. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

            Kitty just laughed at him. "By a normal girl, Kurtie?" She ran a hand through her long hair and gave him a wink. "Don't worry. I have everything under control."

            Which was all a lie. 

            ***

            She crammed her clothes and a few belongings into a duffel bag. Her wet fringes fell limply into her face as she zipped it up and threw it against the door. She had to get out of here. She now wore a dark green t-shirt and black pants, ripped at the knee. She had one hand enveloped in a beige cloth. Rogue walked into the bathroom, grabbed a brush and furiously ran it through her tangled up hair. Thoughts raced through her head. She didn't know where she was going but she had to get out of here. 

            With the throbbing pain between her temples, she opened the medicine cabinet, which caused everything to spill out, grabbed the bottle of aspirin, shoved it into her pocket and left the bathroom, not caring enough to shut off the light. She walked over to the door, grabbed her duffel bag.

            And without looking back, she left the house. For good.

            *** 

            "She has to be somewhere around here.." Kitty drove slowly down the street in the black X-Jeep. _It's not as if Cerebro can find her. _Kitty said to herself as she turned a corner. _Why do I even care this much? Stupid gut instincts. _She bit down on her lower lip. _Maybe_—Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing noise of her cell phone. With an eye roll she picked it up and pressed the 'yes' button. "Yes Kurt?" The corner of her lips tugged back. "I'm—whoa!" A scream erupted from her throat as a dark figure walked out into the middle of the street. The cell dropped from her hand as she clutched the wheel and slammed on her brakes but it would be too late. She screamed again as the car aimed right at the figure. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting to hear the thud and the sound of a body rolling off the hood and possibly smashing into the windshield. 

            But it never happened.

            ***

            _I have to get out of this stupid place. Go back to Mississippi. Screw Louisiana. Actually, Maybe I can get Bella to kill me. She is supposedly a trained assassin. _Rogue smirked to herself as she walked down the alleyway. She sighed heavily as she stopped to adjust the strap of her duffel bag that was digging into her shoulder. _Why do I feel so weird? _She continued walking, her thoughts still set on Remy. _Just when I get him from Bella, this happens. Ugh! _She let out a frustrated sigh and felt like throwing her duffel bag and then stomping on it repeatedly. But violence doesn't solve anything. Half the time, at least. Rogue sighed again as she crossed the street, trying to ignore the dull pain in her hands. That's when she heard it.

            The scream. The sound of tires coming to a halt. She knew what was coming as she tightly closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. 

            But it never happened.

            ***

            Kitty opened her eyes to see the empty street ahead of her. With her heart racing, she quickly climbed out of the car to see Rogue standing less than a foot from the back of the vehicle. "Ohmigosh." She whispered, relieved. 

            "What just happened?" Rogue asked, her face as pale as ever and she seemed out of breath. She dropped her duffel bag and took a deep breath. "Y-your car.. it.."

            "Phased right through you." Kitty finished with a smug smile. "Being a mutant isn't so bad, Rogue."

            "That's your power?" The Southern arched a brow. "To 'phase' through things?" She shook her head in disbelief. "What if you weren't a mutant? You could've killed me."

            "_No_ I wouldn't have. If I weren't a mutant, I would be living back home in Illinois." The mutant replied in defense. "When you're a mutant, your whole life changes, Rogue."

            "So I've noticed."

            "Imagine how Remy feels." Kitty crossed her arms over her chest. Her heart still pounded from the incident. "I bet it doesn't make him feel any better that he lost you."

            "He wouldn't have left—" She cut herself off. "Wait, you don't even know me. Or Remy for that matter. Just mind your own goddamn business, alright?"

            "What happened to your hands?" Kitty asked, taking a step forward to see if she saw correctly.

            "That's not what I would call mindin' your own business."

            "I think you need a friend."

            "_I think_ you need to shut up." She scowled, crossing her own arms now. "You don't know me. Why are you even bothering to make friends with me? I'm not a _mutant_."

            "That's mean!"

            "The world is a mean place, Katie."

            "_Kitty_."

            "I say tomato you say _tomato_."

            "Fine, _Rouge_."

            Rogue ignored that as she picked up her duffel bag. "If you don't mind, I need to get going."

            "Where are you heading to?" When Rogue didn't answer, she nodded to herself. "That's what I thought."

            "Just leave me alone." She turned on her heel and started to walk off in the opposite direction that she had been coming in. Kitty bit down on her lower lip again, this time tasting the metallic taste of her blood. 

            _I don't need anyone. I don't want anyone. I just want everyone to leave me the hell alone!_ Waves of anger flew through her, and an eerie feeling came upon her. She could hear Kitty walking up behind her, to catch up with her, as she felt some strange tingy sensation run through her.

            "Please stop!" Kitty said, grabbing her bare arm to stop her. The second her hand touched the exposed skin, she felt her body fall to the ground but didn't feel it; she was unconscious by the time her body made the impact. 

            Rogue fell to her knees as her mind became cloudy as new thoughts, memories and energy flowed through her. Memories that were not hers encircled around in her mind, making her body shake with confusion and fear. She saw the brunette getting picked on at her locker, she saw the brunette talking to some guy with a mullet, she saw her in some weird outfit, she saw and felt everything the girl had in the past sixteen years of her life. 

            _What's happening to me!?_****

***

            _Part one completed: November 30, 2003_

_            In my next update for this, I'll put up two chapters. The only reason I'm uploading this one now is because I'm at my Mom's and had nothing better to do so I wrote this._

_            I'm so glad you guys like it! :) _

_            'Till next time -- Aro_


	5. Memories Part 2

           ***

           Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

           __

           _"We're supposed to be gettin' married, Remy!" The blonde woman raised her voice at him. "If it wasn't for that bleach job gothic style Barbie over there—"_

_           "I'll show you 'Barbie'—" Rogue snapped, jerking forward but Remy wrapped an arm around her and held her against him so she couldn't viciously attack his 'fiancée.' "And this is natural! Unlike your dye job."_

_           "I don't love you Bella. I'm not goin' to marry someone I don't love." He glanced down at Rogue. "Will you stop squirmin' around?"_

_           "We were fated for this, Remy. I should be more important than her. Why don't you get ride of her? Why don't you just—"_

           "Pick a card, any card!" Pyro shoved cards under Remy's nose, breaking the Cajun's thoughts. "C'mon don't be shy!" Remy just stared up at him; his red eyes didn't seem to bother the Australian. "Pick a bloody card, mate!" He reached up, grabbed a card and looked at it.

           The King of Hearts.

           That was worth an eye roll. "Alright, _mon ami_, guess what card it is." 

           The orange haired boy eyed him suspiciously. "A four of clubs?" He shook his head. "You sure?" He nodded his head, which made Pyro scratch the back of his. "This ain't right."

           "I changed your cards." Colossus, who was in his flesh form, was sitting across from Pyro in the bus. "You get no where by cheating with 52 four of club cards." He reached into his pocket and handed Remy the pack of cards. 

           "So, you tried to cheat?" Remy asked, arching a brow. He placed the card between his index and middle finger and charged it. "You know what happens when people try to cheat Remy Lebeau?"

           "He talks in third person?" 

           "Remy, uncharge the card." Mystique warned from the front of the bus. "The last thing we need is an exploding bus caused by an inexperienced mutant."

           "I haven't exactly learned how to uncharge an object yet.."

           "We're all going to die!" Pyro yelled, falling to the ground and landed on Colossus's feet. "Ow."

           "Throw it out the window." Mystique snapped, "Hurry up you ignorant—"

           Remy cleared his throat. "Insult the person who can kill you right now?"

           "Remy." Irene was now the one warning. "Throw it out the window."

           "At a car? _Target practice_." Pyro's muffled voice came from the ground. He was simply ignored.  

           "Throw it!" Irene yelled, knowing the minute he let go of it, it only had a short time until it went off. 

           Slowly, as if he were tantalizing all of them, he opened the bus window and flicked the card out. He smirked as the way it felt, slipping away form his fingers and how it exploded. For a split second, he forgot about Rogue. 

           ***

           "Whose bright idea was it to steal a bus?" Pyro asked noticing that his foot was sticking to the ground by gum. He made a face. "This just ain't right."

           "The bus isn't stolen. Just.. lent.." Colossus replied staring straight ahead. "When will we arrive in Louisiana?" 

           Remy rested his head on the window, sighing heavily. Why had he left? Oh yes, now he remembered. The Cajun felt like blowing up everyone on the bus. 

           _"It's Rogue, isn't it?" Bella stood on the balcony staring up at the stars as Remy walked outside. "She's the reason you don't want to marry me." She seemed to empathize on 'me', which made him resist the erge of rolling his eyes. She glanced at him, revealing her glossy blue eyes to him. "I can't believe you would let a River rat come between us, Remy."_

_           "I care for you a lot, Bell. But I just don't love you. Do you really want to get married to someone who can't love you back?"_

_           "Yes." She sniffled loudly. _

_           "You're bein' selfish."_

_           "I am!? We've been engaged since before we were born! Our marriage is our destiny Remy."_

_           He felt as if he were in some soap opera. "Mon dieu. Listen to yourself. Even without Rogue I would have decided to call the engagement off."_

_           "Your father ain't goin' to be happy about this." She snapped at him, her blonde hair blowing into her face from the sudden breeze. _

_           "I know. I'm willin' to the sacrifices." He said, running a hand through his hair. "I just hope that you'll understand someday."_

_           "The only thing I'll understand is that you're blowin' me off for some girl you've only known for a few years. You spend so much time with her, you're better off marryin' her!"_

_           "Rogue is just a friend. She has nothin' to do with—"_

_           "Nothin' to do with what?" The soft Southern accent cut into the air and broke off his sentence. Rogue stood behind Remy, a smirk was planted on her face. "Oh the whole marriage thing?" She asked, recalling what had just happened earlier. She walked up and stood besides him._

           Bella stomped her foot. "We're supposed to be gettin' married, Remy!"

           Remy blinked to see dark green eyes staring into his. Across pale skin, freckles stuck out like a sore thumb. He blinked again to only realize Pyro's face was only inches away from his.

           "Ahh! Get away from me!" He pushed the Austrialian back, causing the orange haired boy to fall off the seat and on the floor. "What the heck do you think you were doin' _homme_!?"

           "You didn't blink for over a minute! I wanted to make sure aliens didn't take over your brain o' something." He said in defense. Colossus just looked down at him.

           "Just stand up, sit down and quit making a fool out of yourself, St. John."

           "Alrighty then!" He said, standing up while using his Jim Carrey impression. "Pi-o-t-t-er!" He stuttered and then shrugged. "Can I just call ya Pete?" The Russian shook his head. "Fine then, Colossus.. _dear_." The pyromaniac grinned and winked at him as he picked up his orange visor. 

           Remy picked up the deck of cards Colossus had given him earlier and took out a card. He placed ran his fingers down the sooth surface and placed it between his index and middle finger. 

           _"Remy." Bella smiled as her fiancé walked into the room but frowned when he did not smile back at her. "What's wrong cher?"_

_           "We need to talk." His accent was thick with seriousness. The look on his face was solemn. He stood in the doorway of her living room wearing his trench coat. His arms were crossed lazily on his chest._

_           "About what?" She asked innocently. She knew not to tick him off when he was in a serious mood, so for once, she decided to keep her mouth shut and let him do all the talking. _

_           "About our engagement.." He seemed almost nervous. "I can't marry someone I don't love. It's not fair for me o' you."_

_           "This is a joke.. right? Good joke, Remy." She laughed at him but it faded when the look, the solemn one, was still on his face. He was serious. She snarled at him. "I know why—"_

_           "Hey guys." As if on cue, Rogue wandered into the room and stood next to Remy. She looked at Remy and at Bella. "Did I miss somethin'?"_

_           Before Remy could respond, Bella ran from the room._

"He's doin' it again!" Pyro laughed breaking Remy's thoughts. "He's tryin' to kill us!" The Cajun looked down at the charged card place in his hand. It glowed with kinetic energy.

           "Remy." Mystique snapped from up front again. It was then he realized she was driving the small bus. It surely wasn't Sabretooth or Irene. 

           Remy stared at the card, feeling the slight tingly sensation wave through his fingers. He concentrated on the card and pulling the energy back. With a dull pain, which felt like a shock, the glowing faded. "Ow!" He hissed dropping the card. 

           "He did it." Colossus mumbled surprised as he, Remy and Pyro stared down as the card swayed down and rested on the ground.

           Remy smirked and stared down at the deck of cards that were laying down on the seat next to him. His eyes twinkled with amusement as he reached down for them.

           "Ah-ah-ah! Pyro don't think so!" Pyro managed to grab the cards before he could. "You, mate, are gettin' these back when we get off of this bloody thing. Hmm, o' I can fire 'em up!" Remy glared at him. "I know, I know; don't mess with a guy who can blow ya to the moon's cards!"

           ***

           "So, who is this Magneto character?" Remy asked Colossus as they got off the bus. Pyro stood behind Remy and shoved his cards into one of Remy's trench coat's pockets. "What are you guys? His lackeys?"

           "I am not a lackey." 

           Pyro stepped over to the tall man and patted his shoulder. "Sure you're not." He gave him a wide lopsided grin and then looked over at Remy. "Mags is the funniest bloke in world. Almost as funny as the punnin' blind gal!"

           "Magneto will be here soon." Mystique said looking around the abandoned parking lot. "Pyro, you better learn to keep your mouth shut this time." He opened his mouth to defend himself but she gave him such a nasty look he looked away and down at his boots. 

           Remy's mouth slightly opened. He hadn't seen anyone shut that guy up since he met him. 

           "He's here." Mystique hissed at the four men. She glanced over at Irene who had a calm look on her face. 

           "So this is Remy Lebeau." Remy turned around to see a tall man wearing a cape and a bucket over his head. He chuckled. "Find something amusing, Mr. Lebeau?"

           Remy grimaced at _Mr. Lebeau _but shook his head. "_Non_ sir." _Sir Bucket Head_. He thought, amused, as he suddenly thought of the man in a chicken costume and walking around in a bucket. 

           "Do you want to be a part of my team?"

           "Do I have a choice?"

           "Do you know not to answer a question with a question?"

           "Did you know I don't care?" Just about everyone stared to exchange glances. 

           Magneto stared at the young Cajun, as if he were studying him. "What's your codename?"

           "Codename?" He arched a brow. He really hadn't thought of one of those. "Can't I be an original?"

           "Psh. Right." Pyro mumbled under his breath. "What's Remy gonna be called? Charge-me-up-boy? What a move that is from Remy."

           "Lets go." Magneto finally stated. No one objected. 

           ***

           "This is the base." Pyro said as he lazily walked down the hallway with his arms folded behind his head. "Home sweet home, eh? We aren't that far from New Orleans. Ain't that your hometown, mate?"

           "_Oui_." He murmured, looking around. "So, how long have you been workin' for Bucket-head?" He asked, clearly changing the subject. 

           "Too long." The other male said dryly. For a nano second, his big goofy grin faded but just as quickly as it disappeared, it came back. "Ye know those X-Man blokes?"

           "Yeah?" He asked, not bothering to use French. Speaking in the foreign language usually just confused the Australian. Colossus has told him 'oui' meant 'yes' not his peter. 

           "The bald lad, Xavier, is Maggie's enemy."

           "So that makes the X-Men _our_ enemy?"

           "Yep-yep. Get ready to fight 'em a few times a week. But we're always home in time for dinner time!" 

           "What made you work for him?"

           "What's with all the questions?" Even through he was still grinning, a glint of anger sparkled in his green eyes. 

           "Nothin', _mon ami_, nothin'."

           ***

           "He has an attitude problem but I don't see that as a threat." Magneto proclaimed to Mystique. "I still have yet to see his power."

           "He is, Magneto." Irene spoke up, knowing her statement would settle things. "Let him get settled. He will make a great addition to the Acolytes." 

           "You heard her." The blue skinned woman said gesturing Destiny. "Just thank me later, _Mags_."

           ***

           _This is where I belong. _Remy sat down on a bed. This was now his room. _I ain't no X-Man. I ain't goin' back home now. This is where I'm destined to be, I guess. _He slipped the cards out from his pocket. _Might as well get used to all this. Need to make a name for myself. _

           St. John then wandered in the room, without knocking. "Hey Frenchie, have you seen my light—" A charged card whizzed past the side of his face and exploded out in the hall. "Bloody hell! Good thing you have bad aim!" He blinked. "You could've killed me! Who do ya think you are!?"

           "Gambit." Remy stated, flipping the cards from one hand to another. "That's who."

           __

           _Part two completed: December 1, 2003_

_           This chapter was hard to write because I only had two chapters planned out. The first one and the third. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't satisfaction, but hey—I tried! :)_  
  
__


	6. Memories Part 3

            ***

            Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

            __

            Corporal Intangibility.

            Sounds complicated, doesn't it? Two words long, Twenty-one characters long, Twenty-one, including the space. Doesn't it look like the kind of word that would have a paragraph long definition? Probably. It's used to identify a mutant ability. In easier terms, you can cancel out space between atoms, allowing yourself to move through an object. In other words, phasing through an object. 

            It could be a scary power. If you lost control of it, you could probably end up phasing yourself through the ground and end up falling through the Earth. 

            It could be a cool power. You could walk through walls, doors, reach into the fridge without opening the door.

            It could be a bad power. People could accuse you of bank robberies. You could easily walk into a bank, and right into the safe. But you wouldn't do that, would you?

            Imagine if you had a glimpse of this power and you had no idea what it was. Would you be scared? What _would_ you do?

            I think, at first, you would be afraid.

            Don't you agree?

            ***

            Rogue gasped for air as she raced down the streets. A burning feeling in her leg muscles made them feel stiff as she continued to run. Her legs felt as if they were now lead, but that didn't stop her. Nothing could stop her now, as she ran as if someone were chasing her. 

            Memories from the girl, Kitty, were still fresh in her mind. Tears stung her eyes as she silently wished they would go away. 

            She started to cough, which slowly slowed her down. She fell to her knees gasping for air while hiccupping and coughing all at the same time. It made her lungs feel like they were on fire. The aching feeling in her legs were still present along with the dull feeling of pain located in her clenched fists. 

            "Make it all stop." She whispered, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. "Make it all stop."

            "Rogue!" A male voice call from down the street. Rogue got to her feet and spun around to see a guy she had never seen before running up the street. The minute she saw the X on his chest, she knew what he was. He wore a red visor over his eyes, reminding her of a Cyclops. 

            "Stay away from me!" She yelled, running off again. Thoughts raced through her mind, some hers and some not. Her sore legs made it hard for her to run as fast as before and before she knew it, a gloved hand grabbed her arm. "Don't touch me!" The guy that had grabbed her arm was startled when her arm passed right through his hand. She stumbled forward, even more confused now. 

            "Let us help you." He said, reaching out for her again but she shook her head violently. "Please—" He reached out for her again but this time she hovering her still swollen bare hand in front of his face. 

            "Just stay away. I can and will hurt you if you try to touch me again." Her tears seemed to have suddenly vanished. "I don't know what is going on a-and I—"

            "Scott—Rogue!" A red head wearing a black spandex outfit with a green triangle going down the front and back appeared a few feet behind Scott. 

            Rogue's jaw hung loosely when she saw that the red head was at least seven feet up in the air. "You're all mutants."

            "And so are you." Jean said gently, giving her a warm smile. "Just like Remy. But we can help you if you let us and don't run away from your powers like he did."

            Anger flashed in Rogue's eyes. "Just leave me—" She let out a short scream as she felt herself falling. She looked down to see the ground rising up and her falling into the paved road.

            ***

            There's nothing better than falling into a sewer. Wait, yes there is. Unfortunately for Rogue, falling into a sewer is where she ended up. 

            "Ew!" She groaned holding her breath against the foul odor. "What a place to end up in, Rogue." She mumbled to herself. "I guess this is where your life is ending up anyway." She paused. "And look, you're talking to yourself." She slowly got up and before she knew it, a weird noise and a puff of smoke appeared before her. She screamed and fell back down, on her bottom. When she looked up to see a blue fuzzy guy looking down at her, she didn't do anything. She just stared and felt herself shivering. "What do you want with me?"

            He held out his hand, which looked like it only had three fingers. "Meine.. My name is Kurt." He smiled down at her. "Need a lift?"

            "No!" She slapped his hand and stood up on her arm. "When will ya stupid X-Men learn to leave a gal alone."

            "You're confused. Afraid too, ne? You're a mutant." He gave her a shrug. "Deal with it and come with us. It's a lot safer than living outside in a world full of _mutant haters_."

            "I rather take my chances." 

            "Have it your way." He still gave her a friendly smile. "But remember, there's a place for you at Xavier's institute."

            "An asylum?" She asked, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked away from him. "No thanks."

            "It's a place for mutants." He raised his brows at her. "You are one now, you know."

            "Yes, I know." She snapped, glancing over at him. "God, my life is like an unscripted soap opera." She rubbed her temples as the memories that didn't belong to her faded into the back of her mind, leaving her with a headache.

            "Why don't you go back with us?" He asked, not condoning her condition. "You don't have to stay, or make a decision just yet."

            "No." She snapped, rubbing her temples harder. 

            "Why?" He questioned staring at her. "What do you have to lose?"

            She looked at him half surprised as he held out his hand. She stumbled back. "Don't touch me."

            "So will you come?"

            "Fine." Before she could say anything else, something from behind him reached out, snaked its way around her waist (his tail..) and before she knew it, she was back on the road. "I told you not to touch me." She shoved him back.

            "Rogue." A weak voice came from behind her. She turned around to see Kitty standing behind her, smiling. "How does it feel to be a mutant?"

            Rogue just blinked dumbly at her. "I know what you did last summer.." She realized, remembering some of the memories she had seen. And then, her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she fainted, Kurt barely catching her before she hit the ground. 

            ***

            "Stay away from me!" A pillow whizzed past Hank McCoy's head followed by a glass full of water. The sound of glass smashing against the floor could be heard out through the medical wing. 

            "Rogue, please calm down."

            Rogue blinked. "Where am I?" She stared at the blue haired man. "Planet of the blue apes?"

            _Welcome Rogue to my institute for people gifts, just like you. _A bald man in a wheelchair rolled over to the side of her bed. She stared at him.

            "It wasn't a dream?" She looked down at her hands. The one she had cut up when she smashed the mirror was now neatly wrapped up. 

            "I'm afraid not. Your mutant ability intrigues me, Rogue."

            "Want to trade?" She asked dryly. 

            "This is a gift you're going to have to learn to live with."

            "Gift?" She made a face. "Sure, if that's what you want to call it."

            He chuckled. "You remind me so much of your friend, Remy."

            "He's not my friend." She suddenly snapped at him. She looked down at the white blanket that covered her legs up. "Not anymore, at least."

            "Do you understand your.. power?" He asked, choosing his words better this time. She looked up at him with her grey-green colored eyes.

            "I know what happens when I touch people." She shrugged, "Not completely."

            "You have the power to absorb a persons memory, and if they have one, their power. Upon skin-to-skin contact, you absorb them and render them unconscious."

            "So I'll never have real physical contact again?"

            His brown eyes stared at her. They looked serious, and sadness was hidden behind it. "I'm not sure Rogue. But I promise you that if you stay here, we can help you."

            "What's the point if I can't ever touch anyone?" She looked down at her bare arms and shuddered.

            "You can stay here with people just like _you_."

            Anger flashed in her eyes. "Just like me. A mutant." She mumbled with disgust.

            "I see you haven't adjusted to the idea of mutants yet." He said sadly, as if it were an insult to him. "I'm here if you need to talk."

            "Oh great. Talking to a telepath. Why don't you just read my mind?" _Remy told me about this place before he left. _She stared at him with a blank expression. _I think I might give this place a try but under one circumstance._

_            What's what?_ He asked, somewhat amused and happy that she was willing to give his institute a try.

            _I ain't wearin' spandex._

            ***

            "This is your room." Rogue walked into the room behind the Professor and a white hair woman, Ororo. 

            "Holy smithereen. This room is bigger than the one I have at Irene's." She gasped looking around. "This is _mine_?" She stared at her duffel bag that had been placed on the neatly made bed. "Apparently."

            "And these are for you." Ororo was holding two boxes. She placed them on the bed. "This one contains your uniform—" She glanced over at Xaiver. "—But Charles said you don't have to wear it if you don't want to." Rogue smirked. "And this.." She picked up the second box. "Is just for you. Open it."

            Rogue opened it to find at least five different pairs of gloves in there. There was a brown pair, a black pair with Velcro around the wrists, a black pair that went down to the elbows, a pain white pair that felt like silk and another pair of black ones except they didn't have Velcro; they were made out of a stretchy material. She smiled at them both.

            "Thanks." She picked up the black pair with the Velcro and slipped them on. She was wearing a dark green sweatshirt and black pants. "I guess this is goin' to take a while to get used to." She glanced over at the Professor. "You trust me to stay?" She realized looking down at the gloves. "How do you know I won't runaway?"

            "A feeling." He smiled at her as Ororo walked over and stood by the door. "You know when to do the right thing."

            She stared at him, half offended. 

            "Don't worry. I think you'll fit in here." Ororo smiled at her but she still wasn't convinced. "Give it time."

            _Time_. Rogue smirked. That was something she had a lot of.

            ***

            Later that night Rogue sat in the kitchen finishing up her sandwich. To her, it had no taste. She ate it within a few bites, barely tasting it. She was still in shock a bit, and denial too. Since earlier she kept spacing out. Her thoughts only on her mutation. She got up from the table and set the plate carefully down in the sink. 

            "What made you change your mind?" Kitty stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. She yawned. "I didn't expect you to join so easily. Do you, like, have something up your sleeve?"

            Rogue just stared at her as she walked over towards the door. "You're in my way, Katherine."

            "It's weird. Y-your power." Kitty said, unsure of the wording. "You can find out any information out of anyone.. and see their memories. And their pow—"

            "I know. But the consequences aren't so grand." She brought up her gloved hand and rested it on Kitty's shoulder. "Now, if you don't mind, Kitty-cat, I want to go to sleep." Kitty stepped aside.

            "But why did you change your mind?"

            Rogue just shrugged as she disappeared down the hall.

            ***

            "God, this place is so big." Rogue comment as she finally found her room. She walked inside, quietly shutting the door behind her. She walked back her bed and over to the balcony doors. _I think they want me to escape from here. _The Southern opened the glass doors and walked outside onto the balcony. She sat up on the balcony. _It's a nice night out.. _She inhaled and slowly exhaled as she looked up at the dark sky. Thousands of stars were scattered across the pitch-black sky. For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, she found herself wondering about Remy. _I know you're somewhere out there Rem-Rem and when I find you, you better run._

            __

            _Part three completed: December 2, 2003 _

. 

            _Thanks for reviewin' y'all. This part and the last part suck major cookies but that's okay. The next part, 'Rivals' is gonna ROCK your SOCKS! And Lance isn't even going to be in it! Just kidding, but the next part (well.. three parts literally) shall be interesting._

_            If I do use Rogue's real name (actually, she doesn't have a real name in Evo..) it will be Marie. I rather.. get a thousand brain freezes than use Anna Raven. It's so PUNNED.. Even Pyro would agree with me there. (Y'know Anna Penguin [what's her real last name? Somethin' like that..] person played her in the movies and RAVEN.. which is MYSTIQUE'S real name. _

_            Alright. No more pointless babbling.._

_            Read and review!_


	7. Rivals Part 1

           ***

           Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

           __

           She ignored the thin scars that were carved into her hand as she slipped on a brown glove. She then bent down and carefully slipped her legs into the onyx colored boots. They fit snugly, she noticed as she walked out of her bedroom but stopped when she caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror. _Ugh. Spandex. _She didn't admire the body suit that covered up her body. 

           _Today Rogue. _A certain red head's voice broke her thoughts. _We don't have much time. Get a move on. Pronto!_

_           It's two A.M. I don't fully function property this early. _She mumbled to herself and staggered her way out of the room.

           "Morning." Kitty mumbled walking out from the wall. Rogue just blinked and rubbed her eyes. "This is _way_ too early." She yawned.

           "Yeah." Rogue blew a strand of white hair out from her face

"I need my beauty sleep." She sighed heavily. "The Professor better have a good reason for making us go out in the middle of nowhere so early in the morning." They both began to walk down the hall. 

"I just hope it's not another false alarm." Rogue mumbled sheepishly. "We got to the site and the only action we got was a moving bush. What was in the goddamn bush? A squirrel."

"And we found that out the hard way." The brunette made a face. "Poor Mr. Squirrel. I bet Mr. Logan felt terrible. Now he knows not to strike out randomly at bushes."

***

_'Eleven months.'_

Rogue lowered her self down into the seat and buckled up. Kitty plopped down in the seat behind her, wanting to sit next to Nightcrawler. 

'It has been eleven months since Remy's powers manifested.'

She dropped her head back and closed her eyes. 

'Who would have ever guessed that would have affected both of our lives this much?'

Her fingertips moved inward, creating a fist. 

_'Why did he have to leave?'_

Her eyes popped open and she looked ahead, suddenly angry with herself. She wrote daily in a small black journal she kept hidden under her bed. The things she wrote in it were still fresh in her head. She found herself usually writing about Remy, and stuff before the manifesting of powers.. Like their first encounter.

…

"You're going to like it here, Marie." The ten year old cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Rogue. Give me time, I'll get it right." 

"It looks borin' here, 'Rene." Rogue mumbled, shoving her hands into her pockets. She hung her head down low causing her white fringes to fall into her face. 

Irene smiled as she sat down on the wooden bench that had been put outside on the porch. "I have a friend who lives a few houses down. He has a son your age."

She made a face as she stared into her reflection from Irene's sunglasses. "Can't we just move back to Mississippi? Swamp rats live here."

"Swamp rats? Who ever told you that word, dear?" 

"One of the ladies at the home." She answered, innocently. "She said they were good for nothin', pick-pocketin', killin', no good doin' thieves and that—"

"Don't be repeating any of that around here, Marie." Irene said sternly. She sighed heavily. "I mean, Ro—"

"My father wanted me to tell you he sends his thanks, Ms. Addler." Rogue glanced behind her shoulder to see a boy standing in the front yard. He had shaggy copper colored hair, which was the first thing she noticed. "You must be Marie." He didn't seem to notice her until she turned her body around and leaned against the railing.

"Rogue." She corrected dryly. "Who are you?"

"Remy Lebeau at your service." 

She laughed. "Sounds like Pepe Lepew." 

He didn't seem amused; it must not have been the first time he heard that. "I ain't the one with a white stripe." She glared at him. Now she didn't look amused anymore. "So, that natural?" He pointed to her hair. "You look mighty young to be dyin' your hair."

She reached up and twirled a white strand with her index finger. "'Couse it's natural. Haven't you ever seen anyone with white hair before?"

He smirked. "Only old hairy men."

Before she could open her mouth to respond, a blonde popped out from the other side of the bushes. "Remy Lebeau." She hissed. "You promised to play—" She looked at who he was talking to, only noticing Irene. "Oh, hi Ms. Addler." She gave the woman a toothy smile and then looked at Rogue. It faded. "And company."

"Bella, this is my daughter Rogue." Irene smiled at Rogue. "Rogue, this is Bella Donna Bordereaux." 

"Oh, this is the adopted River—" Remy coughed, loudly. "Nice to meet you, Rogue was it? Nice hair, so unusual."

"It's natural." Remy stated sounding astonished at the fact. Bella noticed and nodded her head in agreement, which just made her look stupid. 

 Rogue still didn't look amused. "Do you two want anythin'?" She bit down on her lower lip knowing Irene would give her an earful for being rude. 

"Actually—" Bella tugged on Remy's sleeve. "We have stuff to do. Come on dear. Ta-ta, Ms. Addler, Rouge."

"That's Rogue!" 

…

           Rogue sighed heavily and sunk deeper into her seat. She never did like Bella, even from the start. But then again, she wasn't too partial about Remy at first…

           "Hey Roguey." Rogue didn't have to look down from the branch she sat upon to know who had just greeted her. "Your mother told me to tell you supper is almost done."

           "She's not my mother." The girl mumbled, still not looking down at him. She was surprised when he climbed up the tree and sat himself down next to her making the bush go down even more.

           "She's someone who cared enough to adopt you." He pointed out, taking the issue seriously. "You should be grateful for that, chérie." 

           "Grateful that my own parents abandoned me?" She asked, her eyes meeting his. She raised a brow. She looked down at the ground. "Grand."

           "Jean-Luc adopted me." Her head snapped over and she stared at him, deciding whether to believe him or not. "My wonderful parents abandoned me in the streets. Left me for dead. Jean-Luc found me after his wife died. He figured it was a sign so he brought me home and raised me like I was his real son."

           "What about Henry?" She asked softly, her eyes locked on his.

           He shook his head. "Non. He's his son by DNA." He chuckled softly, and ran a hand through his hair. "Guess we're in our own private club, Roguey."

           She shifted, hearing the leaves rustle from the movement. "Do you always have to call me Roguey?"

           "You don't like the nickname?" He grinned at her, amused by this. "You can give me one."

           "Swamp rat."

           He stared at her blankly.

           "Or not." She bit down on her lower lip. "Hmm.. Remy, Rem." She shook her head. "This is a toughie." 

           "Take your time, Roguey, take your time." He crossed his arms, waiting patiently. "It'll come to you."

           Finally, after five minutes of waiting, she just shrugged. "I quit."

"You can't quit."

"But I just did." She pointed out, sticking her tongue out at him. "Remy Lebeau.. Pepe Lepew.."

Before she could go on any further, he cleared his throat. "Don't even think about it, Missy."

"You sound like 'Rene." Rogue laughed and then brought her index finger up to her chin. "Hmm.. I shall call you, Mista Lebeau." Her Southern accent sounded thick as she repeated the words. "Mista Lebeau.." She shivered as a feeling came over her. 

…

           ***

           … 

"You're engaged to Bella?" Rogue tried her hardest not to laugh but found that to be difficult. "You just turned fifteen.. When do you plan on getting married? At sixteen?" She teased, brushing white strands of hair out of her face. She couldn't help but to laugh as he gave her an annoyed look.

"I don't find it funny at all, Ro'. Jean-Luc says it's family tradition o' somethin' stupid like that." He crossed his arms and sighed he looked at Rogue, probably hoping for some pity. Or sympathy. Whatever he could get was fine. 

"What's wrong with Bella?" She asked, still teasing him. "Don't you want Miss Priss all to yourself?" She suddenly put her hand over her mouth. "Aw, did I just make fun of your fiancée?" She laughed.

"I love her, Rogue." He mumbled, which made her shut up automatically. "She's like a sister to me. I don't want to marry a sister."

"What am I to you?" She asked, smirking. "Our five years of friendship nothin' to you, Mista Lebeau?" 

"I'm sorry, do we know each other?" He chuckled when she hit his arm. After a few minutes, he sighed heavily. "I can't marry her, Ro'."

"Why you tellin' me? I can't do anythin' about it, Rem." She sighed along with him. "I could kill her for you, but then I'd have a family of assassins after me." She propped her feet onto the railing on the porch. "This stupid wooden bench is killin' my arse." She shifted uncomfortably as she leaned against him. "And Rem?"

"Oui?"

"You don't have to marry anyone you don't want to." She felt him shrug. "I'm serious. You don't have to, Rem-Rem."

"Rem-Rem?" He raised a brow. "You sure you're fifteen and not five?"

"I could just continue to call you Mista Lebeau for ever and ever."

"Rem-Rem is fine. Just not in public." She elbowed him in the ribs. "You can call me whatever you want, Roguey." He cut her off right as she opened her mouth to speak. "'Cept for Pepe Lepew."

"Damn."

…

"Don't worry, Professor, we're going to be there soon." Cyclops said over a headphone communicator. His words seemed to echo in the silent jet. "Are the signals there still strong? Good.. We don't want a repeat of last time." He chuckled. "Logan's face was hilarious but everyone else's at the sight of the squir-- I mean, we'll be landing in a few minutes." A few minutes later, Rogue heard him chuckle to himself.

She just inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off into a slumber…

Her eyes snapped open from a deep sleep. A wave of nausea passed through her, making her sit up. She rubbed her eyes and tried to ignore the weird feeling in the pit of her stomach as she walked over to the window. A figure moved back and forth outside in the darkness of the rain. Without a second thought, she raced out of her room, down and hall and hurried out of the house. She ran through the muddy grass in bare feet and didn't stop running into she reached the backyard.

"Remy." She murmured. Water dripped down her face as she stared at him pace back and forth. She immediately knew something was wrong. "Are you okay?" 

He didn't stop pacing. "Bella came over. Told Jean-Luc that I wouldn't marry her." He stopped pacing and stared ahead at her. "He freaked out."

"Lets go inside and talk about it." She shuddered in her wet clothing; a green sweatshirt, ripped at the neck and red plaid pants. She walked forward and wrapped her arm around his. "C'mon Remy." She practically had to drag him inside. "Irene ain't home. Today she decided since I was eighteen, I was old enough to be left home alone for a weekend while she went to visit her friend in New York o' somethin'." She said, even though he didn't asked. "You're soakin' wet, Rem." She griped his arm as they walked up the stairs. "I think you have a pair of pants somewhere around here. You can wear 'em while your clothes dry in the dryer."

"You seem calm." He stated when they got to her room. "Calm considering my life is over." He showed no emotion, his face was unreadable.

"J-just go into the bathroom, get out of those wet clothes and hand me them before you catch a cold." She walked over to her closet and after a few seconds of rummaging through it, she pulled out an old pair of pants he had left at her house over a month ago. He accepted the pants and walked out of the room, his shoes squeaking with each step he took. "Oh my god." She mumbled, trying to run her fingers through her tangled up hair. After two minutes of waiting, she walked out of her room and down the hall just as he opened the door. A bare arm come out, dropping wet clothing on the floor. The door closed. She sighed as she picked up the clothing and walked downstairs into the laundry room. By the time she got back upstairs, he was laying on her bed, his upper body exposed as he stared up at the ceiling. "I'm.. going to go get changed." Rogue walked over to her dresser and pulled out an outfit. Less than three minutes later, she returned wearing a black tank top and white yoga pants. She laid down next to his body, on her side. If she moved, she would tip over and fall off the bed. "What happened, Rem-Rem?" She stared at the side of his head. 

"Nothin' good." He said turning his head to look at her. A serious look lingered in her eyes. "It ended with me shaming our family. When I reminded him I didn't have Lebeau blood, he told me to leave and not to come back."

"He was upset, Remy. Probably from Bella barging in, right?  I bet anythin' she was cryin' and looked like a mess? Am I right?" When he didn't answer, she automatically knew she was. 

"Not just that." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I have to get out of here, Ro'. I can't stay in Louisiana anymore. I know Julian is most likely out there lookin' for me." Suddenly, he groaned. "And I bet the first place he'll look is here." He stood up, which pushed the other Southern off the bed. "I have to go, Rogue. It ain't safe with me bein' here." 

"You're not leavin' Sugah." She stood up and sat down next to him. "Not here, not now at least. If you have to leave Louisiana, I'm comin' with you."

He almost laughed. "Right. Irene would love that." 

"You're goin' to leave jus 'cause you don't want to marry someone you don't love? All of this is stupid, Rem." She whispered, leaning against him. She rested her head on his shoulder. "We'll find a way through this, I promise."

           ***

           "We need to talk—" Was the first thing Rogue said when Irene walked into the door. 

           "Yes we do." Her mother said, cutting her off. "I have important business to do in New York. I feel it is best if we move up there until it is completed."

           Rogue just stared at her. "Only under one condition; Remy has to come with us." She then explained what had happened, and how Remy just left to retrieve his belongings at Jean-Luc's. "I know it's a lot to ask but you've known Remy since he was a wee one. Isn't he like a son to you? Please, Mom.."

           Irene pressed her lips together. "Fine." 

…

           "Rogue—wake up. We're here." Kitty gently shook her sleeping friend. "C'mon lets make this quick."

           ***

           "This is stupid." Rogue mumbled, yawning. "I don't see anythin'. Lets go home and do somethin' we rarely do when we're supposed to; sleep!"

           "Thanks for the supporting attitude, Rogue." Cyclops said scanning the area. "Lets split up. If you don't see anything in ten minutes, we're leaving. I have a class in seven hours." 

           Rogue rolled her eyes and walked away in the opposite direction. She climbed over a fence, which took nearly two minutes, and sat down next to a tree that stood about ten feet away from the fence. Ugh. This is so stupid. Why did I join the X-Men? Then she remembered. Oh yeah. I'm a mutant. Thanks a lot, Ma. Rogue suddenly tensed up when she heard Scott yelling about something. She immediately stood up, knowing that Scott and the others were on the other side of the site. Suddenly, she felt as if she were punched in the gut as two glowing red orbs floated into the darkness on the other side of the fence. 

           "You." She growled. Anger flowed through her veins. She could barely breath as she glared ahead.

           "Nice to see you too, chérie." 

           ___

           Part one complete: December 4, 2003

           I changed the plot for this part. (By the way, I wanted to make it obvious they were going to meet up in the first chapter. Makes a great cliffie, huh?) The next chapter will center on Remy then the last part will be centered on the both of them, starting from the last line in this chapter. Sorry if this chapter sucked. I tried. REALLY HARD. I'm not even going to proof read this, even through I spent only today on this and I know there's a ton of errors. I need a beta reader. :|

           Wasn't Rogue given the name Marie before the movie? *shrugs* Oh well. Everything is punned. Punned, punned, punned. I knew Anna's last name started with a P and ended with a N. Do I get at least half a cookie for being close? :P

           I'll put the next two chapters up together. They should be up by Sunday, along with Learning to Trust and maybe Growing, if I feel like it. By the latest, Growing will be up by NEXT week. 

           Anyway, read and review!

--- ADDED NOTE: Ff.n has decided to punish me for my over use of italics and only allowed a few things to be italizied in this chapter. I tried to fix it so it wasn't that confusing. Bear with it.. :( Maybe if I upload it again, it'll show alllll the italics but I doubt it. Sorry y'all. 


	8. Rivals Part 2

           ***

           Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

           __

           "So, they actually got you to wear spandex?" Rogue's heart skipped a beat, as he walked in closer, the shadows of the night no longer hiding him. "What's wrong, _Roguey_? Not happy to see me?"

           "I can't believe you." She whispered staring at him. Her hands were rolled up into tight fists. He didn't seem any different; he still had the same cocky attitude and wore a trench coat. 

           "So I take it you didn't miss me?" He smirked, crossing his arms. "I'm hurt Ro', I'm really hurt." He could feel the vibes coming from her. He didn't need to be an empath to see the anger coming from Rogue; it showed in her eyes. "Still holdin' a grudge 'gainst me, huh?"

           "What do you think?" He watched amused as she slowly slid off one glove. 

"You know we're enemies now, _Rem-Rem_." She placed the glove on the side of her hip, under the belt. "How 'bout I show you how much I really missed you?" 

"I can sense that you're angry with me, _chérie_. You really think I'm going to let you get close to me?" He tapped the fence. It was the only thing that separated them. 

"Face me like a real man. Forget that you know me." She pressed her body up against the fence. "We're enemies now. We have no past." 

"Can you live up to those words?" His smirk faded as he placed a hand in his pocket and took out a card. He held it between his index finger and his middle finger. "The minute I charge this, things are going to change—"

"Like they already haven't? I have nothing else to lose." 

His smirk returned. "You actually want to fight me?" He took a small step back from the fence, not knowing what her actual power was. 

"Not before I get some answers." 

           ***

           Laughter erupted from Pyro's throat as flames encircled around the surrounding area. "What's the matter, X-Men? 'Fraid of fire?" The ring of flames danced around them, getting higher by the minute. 

           Kitty yelped as she stumbled back into the flames. She rolled through them and into an open area. The minute she opened her eyes and realized she had phased through the flames. _That guy is crazy. _

"Hello." She looked up to see white eyes staring down at her. Kitty quickly got to her feet and gulped when she looked up to see that he towered over her. "Are you—"

           "Stay away from her!" Nightcrawler **bamf**'d in front of her, wrapped his tail around her wrist and **bamf**'d them both out of there. 

           "Sorry to rain on your parade." A woman's voice yelled from above Pyro. He looked up to see a white haired woman flying in the sky; her arms stretched out. A bolt of lightning erupted from the sky followed by rain.

           "Pun!" Pyro yelled, defeated, as his flames became steam. "What is with the world and all these bloody puns?"

           ***

           Her gloved knuckles connected with his lower jaw. Remy stumbled back a step from the direct blow. His smirk never left his face as he reached up and gently touched his jaw.

           _Maybe I shouldn't have let her cross the fence. _He thought, amusingly to himself. "I see you haven't lost your touch."

           "I see your head is still as hard as ever." She mumbled, running her exposed fingers over her bruised knuckles. "What's the matter, Swamp rat? Afraid to hit a girl?" She stared into his eyes, a twinkle of anger glimmered in the glowing red orbs. "Oh, I forgot—" Her Southern accent got thick with sarcasm as she dared to speak forbidden words. "Your pa told you never to hit a gal, right? But since when do you listen to him?" 

           "You don't think I would hit you?" He asked, his smirk slowly fading as he stared into her eyes, trying to find any remains of the bond they once shared. All he could sense from her was anger, sadness and what felt like some confusedness. She was furious with him, and he knew his empathy powers had something to do with that, which left her feeling confused. _It's going to be hard tryin' to hate you, chérie. Especially since I still care about you. _

           "No I—" With one swift movement, his shoulder moved. Before she could react, his fist slammed into her abdomen. 

           ***

           St. John sat himself down in the muddy ground as Sabretooth and Colossus kept the enemy busy. A frown had formed on his face; he felt powerless. The 'Weather Witch' still flew high in the sky, making the rain fall. _Why can't fire be rain proof? _He asked himself, sighing heavily. "Hey!" He yelled when someone grabbed him up by the collar of his uniform and slammed him against a pile of rocks. "You're dirtyin' up my uniform—" His eyes met the dangerous blue eyes of Wolverine. "—X-man!"

           "Listen up bub—"

           "The name is Pyro." The pyromaniac glared, offended that the X-Men had gotten his name wrong. Three Adamantium claws ejected out from between each knuckle on the enemy's hand. "O' you know what, mate? Bub is just fine!" Pyro squeaked nervously as he shifted his eyes and stared sideways at the three claws that were placed next to his head. Before Wolverine could say anything else, Sabretooth came up behind them, causing him to let go of Pyro and go after his arch nemesis. "They're fightin' like cats and dogs!" He laughed, amused. Out of nowhere, Storm, fell to the ground. A metal rod was encircled around her waist. He blinked and looked up to see Magneto in the sky. "Oh yay." 

           ***

Rogue let out a cry of surprise as four charged cards flew out at her. She barely managed to dodge each one, the last one blowing up right next to her feet. She stumbled down and started to breath heavily. 

"Give up?" Remy asked, cocky as ever. He walked over to her and crossed his arms. "Where are your great mutant powers, Ro'?" He asked, smirking. "Guess they're not _super strength and un-natural flyin' abilities_." 

"Only if you have them." A small groan escaped from her sore body as she attempted to stand up. When she did, she realized Remy was only inches away from her. "I can't stand you!" With a quick turn on the ball of her foot, she tried to kick him with a low sidekick. As he went to block the kick, she picked up her leg more and kicked him hard in the gut, the same place where he had punched her. Knowing she had caught him off guard, she aimed a punch at his face once again. 

"Ah-ah-ah." He blocked the punch by grabbing her wrist. "I'm not goin' to touch you again." _Myst' and Irene would have mon head.. _He licked his lips and pulled her closer to him. "I rather have you in my grasp."

She jerked away from him, half-disgusted. "Aren't you at least goin' to tell me why you left?"

"Left what?"

"_Me_." For a split second, he suddenly didn't sense any anger from her. That didn't last long. "Did you expect me to welcome you back today?"

"I didn't expect you to get up—" He started to say but stopped. "_Marie_, You don't know what happened last year." He paused. "Can't you keep your emotions to yourself?" A dull pain had found its way between his temples. All the readings of Rogue's emotions had given him a headache. "I'm sick of tryin' to figure you out." 

"Then don't. Why don't you just leave for good? Go back to 'Orleans and marry Bella why don't you?" 

"Hell no." He reached up and touched his jaw. "She'll _break_ my jaw." 

"Why did you leave, Remy?" Rogue asked again, ignoring his last statement. "I deserve to know why."

"Curiosity killed the person."

"Killed the cat."

He blinked dumbly. "Same thing."

If Rogue hadn't been furious with Remy at that moment, she would've laughed and teased him but that's the thing. She was. "I have ways of gettin' information out of people, Rem."

"By dressin' in spandex?" His comment just made Rogue feel like she should hit her head repeatedly off something hard. His head, perhaps. "Should've known you'd stay with the X-Men." He suddenly said. "You've always been a girl scout." 

"I'm full of surprises." She slowly reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I-" She got cut off as Remy shoved her against the fence. He pinned back her wrists with his hands and pressed his body against hers so she couldn't move.

"I ain't takin' any chances." His breath was hot against her face. Chills ran down her spine as their eyes met. For some reason, she suddenly thought about Kitty and her crush on Kurt. It was obvious to everyone but Kurt, but hey, that's life.

"Whoa!" Rogue yelped as she felt her body fall back, through the fence. 

***

A smile curved on Pyro's lips as fire shot up from his hands. He stared at Cyclops, suddenly grinning at him. "What's the matter, Eye? Can't you SEE the fire? 'Cause you know, see and you have one.. Bah! Never mind." 

"Enough!" Magneto yelled glaring down at the mutants. Everyone stopped moving and looked up at him. "I have come here for a reason."

Cyclops glanced over at both of Magneto's associates. "Oh, really?"

"Watch it, before he turns you into a tin can." Pyro mumbled and then realized his words. He leaned over and waved admiringly over to Colossus. "No offense to you, _Mate_!"

_I can't believe these are our enemies. _Jean said to herself as she lowered herself to the ground. _The big one is the only serious one. We can beat them. _

If only she knew about the one with cards..

           ***

           "Ow." Rogue winced after gravity caused her to fall down. She looked up to see a surprised Remy staring down at her from the other side of the fence. 

           "Did you.. go through it?" He asked out loud and ran his fingers down the metal fence. "Is that your power, _chérie_? To go through things?"

           "No and _don't_ call me _chérie_." She got to her feet and then remembered about the X-Men. "Oh god." She mumbled, and then walked through the fence, knowing she should go help her teammates. 

           "Leavin' so soon?" He grabbed her arm to stop her. She tried to phase out of the grip but suddenly found that she couldn't. "You said you wanted answer, no? Why not ask me now?"

           "I don't have to ask." She raised her hand to his face. He grabbed the exposed hand by her gloved wrist. The second she saw his bare fingers; she quickly leaned forward and kissed the side of his index finger. She squeezed her eyes shut when she heard his body fall to the ground and felt his memories start to swirl around in her head. A wave of fatigue went through her. She stumbled back into the fence and clenched the thin metal wires with her hands, as if she were holding herself up for support. Memories from before he met her, and after along with memories before and after his power manifested circulated. It took over a minute for things to settle and she let go of the fence and stumbled forward. A bright glowing red color coming from behind her made her twirl around to see that she had charged the fence. "_Merde._" Rogue quickly walked over to Remy's unconscious body, grabbed him from behind his shoulders and tried to drag him as far away from the charged fence as possible. _Mon dieu. It's goin' to blow. _

           Suddenly, the fence pulled out from the ground and was thrown more than ten feet away from them. It exploded, not harming anyone but the tree it landed by.  Rogue turned around to see a man in a cape standing behind her.

           "You should be more careful, Rogue." He said staring at her. He wore a bucket over his head, which confused Rogue on why anyone would wear such a stupid thing outside.

           "Magneto." She immediately recognized him from the stolen memories. "What do ya want?" 

           "I believe that is one of my men you have unconscious by your feet. You have an interesting power."

           "Good for me." 

           "Would you like to test out the true limits of your power?"

           "I would rather not have a power, _Mags_." She crossed her arms firmly over her chest. He looked almost familiar to her, but she couldn't let if it was from the overload of memories or not. There was just something about him.. "I know you work with Irene."

           He chuckled. "Irene works for me. How does it feel being betrayed by—"

           "Rogue!" A red optic blast came aiming at Magneto. He quickly rose into the sky, dodging it. 

           "_Merde_." Remy mumbled, sitting up. "What hit me? A truck?" 

           "It's time to go Gambit." Magneto ordered as the younger male got to his feet. He glanced over at Rogue. "We'll be back Rogue."

           "Sounds great." She mumbled between her clenched teeth. "I'll get my planner and we can set a date."

           ***__

"Are you, like, okay?" Kitty asked yawning heavily as she lowered herself down into the seat next to Rogue. Rogue just nodded her head. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Rogue answered softly. "Absolutely nothing."

__

Part two completed – December 9, 2003 

_The next chapter will be up by Thursday. I changed the plot around 'cause if I did what I originally intended for this chapter, it would be short and it would suck. The next chapter will mostly deal with the aftermath and stuff. You  will see. ;)_

_I did notice that I've been making Pyro sound gay. But he's not gay. He's bisexual. :P _

_Anyway, hope y'all liked it. Read and review. :)_


	9. Rivals Part 3

            ***

            Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

            __

Rogue sat on the couch in the rec room with her knees brought up against her chest and her arms loosely wrapped around them. A dull pain located in her abdomen constantly reminded her of Remy. It also didn't help with his memories still fresh in her mind. 

"You sure you're alright?" Kitty stood in the doorway, lazily leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. With Remy's empath powers still at work, she could feel the concern coming from her friend. 

"I'm fine." She answered smugly. It seemed like every other hour Kitty would ask her the same question. She was most likely dissatisfied with Rogue's answer. 

"Must've been weird seeing Remy, huh?" Kitty pushed the topic, wanting her friend to open up to her. It didn't work. The young Valley girl sighed in disappointment when the Southern just shrugged in response. "I'm here if you need to talk, Rogue." After receiving another shrug from the older female, she simply turned on her heel and left the room.

_Talk. _Rogue almost laughed. _Talk about how I was betrayed by my own foster mother? How I've been lied to since birth? _A small sigh escaped her lips. _If only.. _She blinked back tears. There was no way she would let any fall. Not now, not ever. _If only I still had Remy._

***

Remy sat against the wall, staring into space. Every so often he would reach up and touch his bruised jaw with his fingertips. _That girl has one hell of a punch. _A smirk curved onto his lips. 

"I'm bringin' home a baby bumble bee.." St. John sang softly to himself as he waltzed into the room. Piotr was sitting on the couch, in his flesh form, Remy was sitting on the floor, besides the end of the couch. "Move over, mate!" Pyro mumbled to Piotr. He wanted the whole couch to himself. What a selfish person that Pyro was. 

"No." The older male replied strictly. Pyro frowned heavily and pondered on what to do in this situation. Suddenly, and out of nowhere, Pyro sat himself down in Piotr's lap.

"This seat taken?" He asked batting his eye lashes at the Russian. Almost immediately, Piotr stood up, causing Pyro to fall to the ground, and walked out of the room. "Knew that would work." The young pyromaniac smirked as he climbed onto the couch and stretched out on it. "So, how's the jaw Gammie?" In response, he heard a growl. "Glad to hear it!"

Remy leaned forward and appeared over the side of the couch to see Pyro stick his hand under the cushion and pull out a bag of chips. He made a face as the Australian unrolled it, put his hand in, took out a chip, sniffed it and then plopped into his mouth and chewed. 

"Want some?" Pyro asked after noticing his teammate was staring at him. Remy just shook his head.

"I can't believe I hit her." Remy suddenly mumbled out of nowhere. Pyro looked down at his crinkled up bag of chips, at Remy, and then back at his chips. "Rogue."

"You hit her?" Suddenly, Remy wished he had not told him that. "Bloody hell mate!" He sat up. "That ain't the way to win her affection! You might as well have thrown your li'l cards at 'er!" He slapped his forehead when he noticed the look in Remy's eyes. "Way to go. Now you're going to end up as a forty year old bald bloke living on the streets with one tooth and scares passing children by tellin' them _horrid_ puns!"

"I'm _not_ tryin' to win her affection."

Pyro winked at him. "What about the last part?"

"What last—"

"Gambit?" Piotr suddenly stood in the doorway of the room. His usual serious face was planted on his face. "Mystique and Irene would like to _see_ you." He pointed his finger at Pyro right as he opened his mouth. "Not a word from you."

"I wasn't goin' to say anythin'!" Pyro proclaimed. He crossed his arms and stared up at the ceiling. "Sheesh."

Remy, in sluggish movement, got up and made his way out of the room as the other two exchanged words.

_"You're getting way to lazy."_

_"Ah, stop bein' a hater and just sit down."_

***

"The Professor wants to talk to all of us." Kitty announced, walking into the rec room, where Rogue still sat, in the same position. "And we're going to the mall later 'cause you're, like, starting to depress me."

"How terrible you must feel." The Rogue replied dryly as she slowly made her way off the couch. She winced at the pain that shot from her abdomen to her brain when she stood up and stretched.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine." She stressed out the words she had been saying all day long. "Ask me again and—" Rogue waved a gloved hand at her and gestured taking it off. "—You get the idea?"

"Yes. But I can't believe you just threatened me." Kitty rolled her eyes as they made their way out of the room. "Actually, yes, I can." Rogue said nothing in return.

"Nice of you two to finally join us." Scott commented the minute they walked in to find everyone already sitting there and most likely waiting for the other two members of their team. 

"Put a sock in it, Summers." Rogue snapped, lowering herself down in a seat besides Kurt. Kitty quickly sat herself down next to her. "So—" She glanced over at the Professor. "We're all here because?"

"Magneto—" Rogue bit down on her lower lip at the mention of his name. "Has something up his sleeve. Last night—" Kitty coughed. "I mean, early this morning, was just his way of showing us he has re-enforcements; Colossus, Pyro and a man only one of you encountered, Gambit. Some of you may remember Gambit as Remy." Kitty's mouth formed a perfect 'o' shape as she finally figured out what happened with Rogue.

"None of his men seem very skilled." Jean said, twirling a strand of red hair around with her index finger. 

"Don't let that fool you. All three of them are very powerful. Four including Sabretooth, but I wouldn't count him as much of a threat." The Professor looked over at Logan who stood impatiently in the doorway. "Although I do not know much about Colossus or Pyro, I believe Rogue can fill us in on Gambit."

Rogue blinked at him. "Excuse me?" 

"Remy. I never had the chance to really know him" Xavier stated, making a steeple structure with his hands. "But you know enough about him to tell us about his fighting skills, his weaknesses."

"I ain't a spy." Rogue snapped in defense. "There ain't no way in hell I'm wailin' to y'all about him. I don't betray on no one. If ya want to find anythin' out about him, ya can just probe into his mind o' whatever 'cause I ain't—"

"Rogue. You hold some very important information. You did absorb him, didn't you?" Xavier cut her off. "You know where the hide out is. To beat Magneto, and stop whatever he has planned, we must beat him."

"You're a telepath, you try to get inside my head."

"That's the thing. I can't. Your powers neglect my own."

"So ya try to fish inside my head without my permission!?"

"Where is your allegiance?" Scott abruptly stood up. "You are a X-Men, right?"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I'm goin' to squeal like a pig."

"I knew we could never trust you."

Rogue suddenly stood up, offended. "Never trust _me_? If anyone should have any trustin' issues, it's me." And with those words, she hurried out of the room, brushing against Logan as she exited. He knew better than to go after her now. 

_I can't stand this place. And Kitty is getting on my last nerve! _She hurried into her room, never realizing she had phased through the door. 

***

"What?" The minute Remy walked into the room, Mystique grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him against the wall.

"You did something." She hissed into his face. He didn't have to be an empath to see that she was pissed off about something. He reached up and gripped her arm tightly.

"How do you feel about having one arm?" He waited until she let go of him to talk again. "So, what did Gambit do?"

"The future has changed." Irene announced sternly. "I have reason to believe you have something to do with it." She paused. "I do not foresee Rogue."

His heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean? She's not in the future?"

"Don't get excited." The blind woman murmured coldly. "She's in the future but not with us, as it was planned."

He shrugged. "Not everything does accordingly to plan." He reached up and rubbed his sore jaw. "You could've told me Rogue was goin' to—"

"You hit Rogue back. You let her absorb you, fool!" Mystique snapped. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"You should've told me her goddamn power." 

"Now she knows everything. She knows where we are, about how we knew about her latent powers—" Irene sighed. "She knows everything and anything that you have seen or heard."

"Whose fault is that?"

"Yours!" 

"She should know the truth. It ain't fair that she should live her life as a lie. You two should tell her _everything_ else."

"You're talking as if you care." Mystique arched her brows up. "You do realize your relationship with her was nothing more than a bond from your powers?" She walked over and pointed to his jaw. "That's what she thinks of you, Mr. Lebeau." Unexpectedly, Mystique's hand rolled into a tight fist and in a swift movement, she punched him in the stomach. "Never touch my daughter, Gambit." 

            ***

_I'm not an X-Men. _Rogue realized as she sat on the ground in the bedroom, playing a game of solitaire. _I don't belong here or anywhere else. I really need to find myself. _She carefully set the black ace down after the red two of hearts. _Why are you playin' with cards, Rogue? _She lifted the ace up and examined it. _These are what Rem chucked at me. I don't see what's so great 'bout 'em. _She let out a small sigh. _Looks like we all make mistakes. _A wave of nausea passed through her as she recalled several of the stolen memories. The Southern momentarily closed her eyes until they passed. Suddenly, a sharp, almost as if a quick zap of pain ran through her hand. She let out a short cry when she opened her eyes to see that she had charged a card. She threw it. It swayed across the room, landing next to her closet. Within a minute an explosion was heard out through the mansion.

"Oh crap."

            ***

"I hate this place." Remy mumbled as he walked into the room where Pyro and Colossus sat. He winced at the pain still present in his abdomen as he leaned against the wall and slowly slid down it.

"You alright?" St. John asked, making a face. "What did they do to you? Tell you your fortune err, future?" No one laughed.

"_Oui mon ami. Oui_." He said bitterly. "I don't understand why you two can stand to stay here."

"I have no choice." Colossus suddenly spoke up. "Made a deal with Magneto. He covers my ill mother's hospital bills and I work for him."

"That's harsh, homme." Remy felt at loss for words. He looked at Pyro. "What about you? You make a 'deal' with the Bucket-head?"

"He said he would clear my criminal record. One hundred and five reports of arson." Colossus elbowed him. "Just kiddin'." He shrugged and looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that were it." Remy's smirk appeared. "Guess that Fluffy is the only one who loves the man."

Pyro just shrugged, his grin slowly returning. "What else do you think they do in his closed office?"

Remy continued to smirk as his eyes trailed down to the ground. It slowly faded. _We ain't goin' to be enemies or rivals, Ro'. I'm goin' to make sure of that._

            __

            _Part three completed – December 10, 2003_

_            Because I'm the author, I've decided to answer some reviews. Hip-hip-hooray!_

_            Meh._

_            Kagii – I love Pyro. Him, Rogue, Remy and Ray are my absolute fave mutants. =] It's a joke that Pyro is bisexual. I realized the other night that I've been making him sound a wee loopy and decided that he's not gay, but bisexual. Anyway, please don't stab me again or I will release the hounds. _

_            ChaosCat – Quoting from what I said to Kagii.. "It's a joke that Pyro is bisexual. I realized the other night that I've been making him sound a wee loopy and decided that he's not gay, but bisexual." I'm glad you're diggin' the AU concept. _

_            Lightspeed Suzuka – I confused people with the bi comment. Oh well. Since I'm a fan of Amyro, he'll end up with her sooner or later. _

_            cool-chick-rae – Pyro is awesome. Rogue has answers. Doesn't it make you wonder on exactly how much she knows? Eerie._

_            Ishandahalf – We live in a world full of puns, eh? Pyro likes for everyone to notice that. ;) I updated like a bunny on crack seeing as how I didn't plan on finishing this up until tomorrow! I'm.. an.. author on crack! Ahh, sounds great._

_            **That's all. Sadness. Anyway, anyone have suggestions on a new summary for this fic? It could use some help ;)**_


	10. Distance Part 1

           ***

           Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

           __

           "I can't believe it took them three months to cover up the hole." Rogue mumbled to Ray as they both walked down the hall, ready for the morning training session. 

           "Professor X nearly fell out of his wheelchair when they heard the explosion." Ray smirked at the memory. "What I can't believe is that they kept you in the medical wing for two whole days when the explosion happened across the room."

           "Now, not only do I have to try to control my own powers, I have to control other peoples powers." The Southern sighed heavily. "I just wonder how many powers I can absorb until I explode."

           "I wouldn't mind having your power." Berzerker said, sighing lightly as he imagined it. "I'd absorb every mutant and become the most powerful mutant ever. Even _Apoc_ wouldn't dare to fight me."

           "Yeah, sounds like a great power." Sadness spread over Rogue's face. "But you can't have skin-to-skin contact." She felt his hand on her shoulder and looked across at him when she felt him squeeze it. 

           "Hey guys!" Kitty ran up the hall to catch up with them while pulling her brown hair into a high ponytail. Ray retracted his hand as she walked in between them. "It's so easy to spot you two because of your hair." She giggled as if she just had made a joke. 

           "As if I haven't heard _that_ before." They both mumbled in unison. 

           ***

           Later that day, Kitty sat in the library studying for a Chemistry test, Rogue sat at the end of the table reading a book and Ray sat half way across from Rogue, at the other end, surfing the net on his laptop. A few other recruits, Amara, Bobby and Jamie sat at the table next to them; Amara was studying, Bobby was supposed to be writing a paper on Antarctica but found _frosting_ up the paper to be more entertaining and Jamie—well, Three Jamie's sat at the table, all three reading a book. 

           "I hate Sundays." Kitty complained, sighing in frustration. "You're, like, so lucky you graduated already."

           "Seven more months and you're finished." Rogue said, not looking up from her book. "Stop complainin', I had to make up a credit in summer school for missin' so much school."

           "You should go to a local college, like Scott and Jean!" Now, Rogue looked up from her book, both brows arched. "Or not."

           "Scott is pissed off at me." Rogue glanced down at her book, a smirk curved onto her lips. She could sense the anger coming from Scott every time he saw her, or talked to her. "He thinks I'm a turncoat, or somethin'. I may have been Remy's friend but I ain't him."

           "Have been? After all that you found out, you're still not forgiving him?" Kitty asked, remembering what Rogue had told her the night before. From the corner of her eye, Rogue could see Ray glance up from behind his laptop. 

           "Things change." The Southern said with a shrug. "_Gambit_ has a new life of his own now." She paused. "And so do I." She looked over at Ray who was now looking back at the screen. "So, 'Zerk. You lookin' at porn o' what?" She ignored Kitty who giggled loudly at the word _porn_.

           "Professor X blocked all those sites." He said, making a face. "Mostly because of Jubilee and—" he looked over at Kitty. "And a few others." He looked back over at Rogue. "You don't want to know. Believe me."

           Kitty scratched her neck and said nothing as Rogue gave her a look. "We'll be talkin' later, Kit'." Kitty made a face at that comment and went back to studying. "It's too quiet in here." Everyone, excluding Ray and Kitty, watch as she closed her book, stood up and left the room. Her heart pounded as she quickly walked down the hall, wanting to get away from them. She could sense it; she could sense that most of them didn't trust her.

           _They don't accept me. _She realized as she walked into her bedroom. _I have to stop being so weak. I have to stop pitying myself. I have to be myself.. I have to be.. Rogue._

           ***

           "Good morning Rogue." Kurt greeted her with a smile the next morning as she walked into the kitchen. 

           "What's so good about it?" She asked rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. That didn't stop her from seeing the hurt expression that diffused over the German's face. 

           "How did you sleep?" He tried again, continuing to smile at the older female. His smile faded when she shrugged.  
  


           "Don't know. Made a few mistakes." She looked down at the floor and then back up at him. "Can I ask ya somethin'?" He nodded. "What do ya know about Mystic and Magneto?"

           "Mystic? Oh, you mean Mystique." Now, he looked down at the floor. "Mystique is my.." He glanced up at her. "Mother. She works for Magneto."

           Rogue folded her arms over her chest. "Your mother? And you decided to stay with the X-Men?"

           He laughed slightly; it was a nervous laugh. "I found out about a year before you joined. There's no way I would join her." His thick German accent softened. "I fight for what's right."

           "Why do you wear an imagine inducer? 'Fraid of what people might think?"

           "'Fraid of their reactions." He was startled when he felt her gently grab his chin with her gloved hand.

           "Don't be 'fraid of who you are, Kurt. Be blue and fuzzy. Because it's you." And with those words, she patted his chin, turned on her heel and left the room. 

           "That made absolutely no sense." Kurt decided with a soft chuckle.

           ***

           She ran her tongue across her chapped lips as she sat down in the empty library. A few sheets of lined paper and a pencil sat neatly in front of her. Her neatly painted black fingernails tapped nervously on the desk. After a few minutes, she blew a strand of white hair out from her face and allowed her head to fall forward onto the hard wooden table. A loud thud echoed out through the library followed by a muffled 'ow.'

           "I think you dented the table." Someone jeered. Immediately she looked up to see Ray across from her, lowering himself down into a chair. "So, what'chya doin' Rogue? Other than losing thousands brain cells?"

           "I'm tryin' to write a letter."

           "Rogue—" He reached over and patted the top of her head. "You're supposed to use your hand to hold the pencil, not your head."

           "What would I ever do without you?" She spat, sitting up straight. She picked up the pencil and slowly started to write on the paper. After a few short minutes, she glanced up at him. "Want somethin' _Sugah_?" 

           "Only you _babe_." He murmured with sarcasm. "What's with the 'sugar' thing?" He seemed very interested as he rested his elbow on the table and lazily set his chin on the palm of his hand. "Is it some kind of Southern thing?"

           "Yeah." She answered, trying not to roll her eyes. "Only Southerners understand it. Ya have to be in the club to understand." Her accent was thick with sarcasm. 

           "Like Gambit?" Ray jeered, noticing how she immediately tensed up at just the slightest mention of the codename. "He was _just_ a friend wasn't he? Or did you two have something going on behind the scenes?"

           "Just a friend." She mumbled softly, avoiding any eye contact with him. For once, her stolen empathy powers were not working, so she couldn't read his emotions. She needed to learn how to use the powers she absorbed at will, not at random times. She picked up the pencil and twirled it between two fingers.

           "Then why are you making such a big deal out of all of this?" Now, she made eye contact with him. Her usual grey-green eyes now twinkled a danger glint, and flashed into a darker green color. The pencil stopped twirling and got snapped in half. It was the only sound in the library until Rogue stood up knocking her chair back. 

           "I've been lied to for over half my life. I find out my own foster mother kept secrets from me, never telling me about her mutant powers, my mutant powers or how she worked for Jean-Luc. I got mad at my _best_ friend for somethin' I thought was his fault—" She stopped and shook her head. "Why do I even bother?" And with those words, she rushed out of the library. 

           Ray just sat there, speechless. After a few minutes, he leaned over and grabbed the sheet of paper Rogue had. He hadn't noticed the words she had written on it just a few minutes ago: _Dear Remy._

***

           "I don't think I'm ever goin' to understand why we have training sessions." Rogue mumbled as she adjusted her belt so it hung loosely around her hips. 

           "Now with Mags as a 'threat' we have to train even more." Ray said with a small sigh. He stood between Rogue and Kitty as they walked out of the control room. "We just have to wait until he attacks again. We don't even know when that is." He sounded a bit angry as he spoke the words. "This is stupid."

           "Wearin' spandex is stupid." Rogue said looking down at herself and grunted. "I look horrible in it."

           "Nah." Ray's attitude suddenly changed. "You look great in it. It really clings in all the right places.."

           "_Ohmigosh_!" Kitty squealed; blushing at the comment he had made at Rogue. "That was, like, so sweet and perverted!" Ray and Rogue just switched glances. "Well, I'm going to, like, go take a shower."

           "I'll help Rogue to her bedroom." Ray said, wrapping an arm around Rogue's shoulders as he gave Kitty a wink that made her squeal again. 

           "Gee thanks." Rogue said, feeling uncomfortable as they reached her room. She slowly opened her door and walked in. Ray was at her heels. "I don't think I could have ever found my room without you, 'Zerk."

           He scratched the back of his head. "No problem Rogue." He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, still from behind. "So, do you think I'm pervertedly sweet?" He whispered into her ear. 

           "Oh yeah, and I hear you're a real charmer too." She smirked and pulled out of his grip. "Kitty told me that ya took Amara to a taco place on your first date."

           "Taco Bell." Ray corrected as he walked over, closer to her. He placed his hands on her hips. "I thought it was a great idea."

           "A nice romantic dinner over taco sauce. What's better than that?" She jeered, still smirking, even as she felt his hands slowly move up and down. "Oh, I can see that you're thinking of what's better than that." She said, as her belt fell to the floor. She leaned in so that her face was just inches away from his. "You seem to have forgotten, Ray-Ray; I can't have skin contact."

           "I haven't forgotten." He stated, his eyes meeting hers. "How would you like to have some _electrifying_ powers?"

           "I-" She was cut off when his lips pressed up against her. In a matter of seconds, she felt his body go limp against hers and fall to the floor. "Pun." She realized as his memories relived themselves in her head. 

           ***

           She changed into civilian clothes before she left the institute. It was a cold night out, so she grabbed her leather coat on the way out and when she reached for the knob, she had received a shock that made her heart race. _Just get out. _She told herself, and she did. She left the institute, without telling anyone, which would probably make them think of her more as a turncoat, but she didn't care. Rogue knew what she had to do. She exited the property of the institute easily, by phasing through the front gate. 

           It took her well over ten minutes to her destination, a twenty-four hour convenient store. She quickly walked over to the payphone. _This is a bad idea. You're going by a phone number in a memory, Rogue. Remy's memories, though. _She cautiously picked up the black-wired phone, inserted two quarters into the slot and slowly dialed the numbers implanted into her mind.

           __

           _Part one completed – December 13, 2003_

_           **hnh**, that an offer to be my lovely beta reader? I'll e-mail you later or something. :P_

_           **cool-chick-rae**, actually, her powers aren't exactly 'growing' 'cause you see.. I've tweaked her powers a bit. This is an A/U ^^ I made it so that when she absorbs someone, she permanently keeps the power she absorbed. And she has to learn how to control it and all. _

 


	11. Distance Part 2

           ***

           Disclaimer – I don't X-Men: Evolution

           __

           "Mate—" Pyro stood in the doorway of a room, watching Colossus move boxes. "Why are you moving those bloody boxes?"

           "Magneto's orders." The Russian stated, setting a box down. He didn't bother to say anything else as he walked back across the room, to gather another box. 

           "Since when do we listen to him?" St. John pondered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. 

"We do work for him." The Russian stated, picking up another large box. 

"Really?" The Australian blinked surprised. "Geezums! I thought we were his servants." He chuckled softly. "Good thing that stupid bloke won't be back for two weeks."

"Mystique and Ms. Adler are still here." Piotr reminded him, as he continued to walk back and fourth. Suddenly, a fiery figure that resembled a bird encircled him.

"Will you stop that, you goddamn brute? You're annoyin' the hell outta me."

"I'm doing my work, St. John." He stopped the box and then turned and glared down at the orange haired boy. 

"Well, you're annoyin' me outta my skull." He glared back up at him through his orange tinted visor. 

"And you two are buggin' me. Pyro, homme, call back the flames or the sprinklers will go off." Remy stood in the doorway of the room. He paused to make sure St. John knew he was serious. "Don't test me."

With a frustrated sigh, the flames faded and the young male stormed out of the room.

"Well." Piotr stated as he went back to work. "Someone neglected to take their Ritalin today." He heard Remy mumbled some French words under his breath as he left the room. "And someone didn't take their coffee this morning." He sighed heavily. "It's hard being the only sane one here." 

***

"Ice cream." A wide grin came across Pyro's face as he opened the freezer. He hadn't had ice cream in months. Without hesitation, he grabbed the carton and happily set it on the counter. When he opened the cupboard to get a bowl, he found not only bowls, but also a box of cookie mix. If it was possible, his grin got even wider. 

***

Gambit stood outside the headquarters. He took a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket, and lit it with his powers. _"You're goin' to get some sort of cancer if you keep this up."_ He looked down at the cigarette and then flicked it into the grass. "_Merde_ Ro'. You're not even here and you're drivin' me crazy." He sighed, took out another cigarette, lit it and placed it between his lips. "What she doesn't know ain't goin' to hurt her." Then he remembered her powers and he took out the cigarette and flicked it into the grass. After another minute, he took out another cigarette and lit it. "If I don't let her absorb me, she won't know." After taking a few short drags, he sighed, and flicked the cigarette near the other two. "Stupid _fille_." He walked over to the burning cigarettes and stepped on them, squishing them into the ground. "Havin' a good influence on Remy." With a shake of the head he slowly walked back into the shelter.  

***  
  
           It was nearly 2 A.M. when the Russian and the Cajun were awakened by loud noises coming from downstairs. Within minutes the two walked down there, Remy had his bo staff ready to attack and Piotr just stood besides him, looking incredibly tough and tired. Noticing the kitchen light on, they both cautiously walked towards it. 

"Who's there?" Remy called, stumbling over something but caught his balance. Suddenly, before his eyes stood Pyro wearing an apron that said "Kiss me—I'm a Pyromaniac, mate!" Entangled in his hair were pieces of eggshells, butter and flour but he stood there holding a tray of cookies looking proud with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"I'm going back to bed." Piotr murmured the minute he saw Pyro but the young Australian raced forward, knocking over Remy.

"Try a cookie, Pi-P-i-Collossus!" His jade colored eyes got big and watery, his lower lip made a slight pout. "Please Col, for _me_."

Remy stood up and smirked at Colossus from behind Pyro. "Yeah c'mon _homme_. For _Pyro_."

Colossus mumbled something about a rope as he reached out, took a cookie and stuffed it into his mouth. With an emotionless face, he turned around and made his way back upstairs. 

"What are in these?" Gambit asked walking over to him. He picked up a cookie and examined it. 

"Eggs, flour, oil, butter, laxatives, and chocolate chips!"

Gambit just dropped the cookie, mumbled something about how the Russian wasn't going to get any sleep tonight and went back upstairs.

***

It wasn't until the next night when the unexpected happen. It had started out as a normal day, Colossus was in the bathroom and Pyro was running around somewhere in the base, and Remy just walked around. There were hidden rooms, and air vents that lead to every room in the base. It was his job to make a blueprint out of the whole place, even through no one asked. That's when it happened; from the locked office of Magneto came a ringing sound. Gambit stopped in his tracks. He couldn't just let it go ringing.. 

He easily got into the office. He blew up the doorknob. Why pick locks when you can just blow them up? He walked into the dark office; his red eyes glowed in the darkness. He picked up the phone.

"Hello?" He asked uncertain; he didn't know what to say, he had always hated answering phones.

"Hello?" A small voice whispered back. His heart skipped a beat at the familiar voice.

"Hello?" He repeated, his eyes wide.

"Hello?"

"Hello?"

"Hello?"

"_Hello_?" He said in an annoyed, louder voice. 

"Remy?" 

"Rogue?" He dared, looking around the room as if it were a joke.

"Remy?"

"Rogue."

"Remy."

Silence.

***

"Where are you?" Colossus asked himself out loud as he walked around, in search of the certain Pyromaniac. He knew he had to look in the most unusual places. There was the time Pyro hid in the oven.. 

***  
  
           "Geezums! That brute has gone crazy!" Pyro laughed as he climbed into the dryer. "He'll never find me in here!"

***  
  
           "Good thing you can't hit me over the phone."

"You lied to me."

"You nearly broke my jaw."

"You left me.." He heard her sigh heavily into the receiver of the phone. "For a good reason, but why didn't you tell me, Rem?"

"I-"

"_Please deposit fifty more cents to continue._"

"Goddammit!" Rogue groaned. "Stupid long distance. I'll call you when I get back to the instit—"

*_click_*

Gambit stared down at the receiver. What had just happened?

***

Remy sat in Magneto's office for over twenty minutes. He wasn't sure if he should move or not. He knew if he heard Pyro screaming, he should get up and pry the younger male out of the Russian's hands but he still had yet to hear anything. 

_Guess she ain't callin' back. _He realized with a tired yawn. Just as he slowly began to rise, the phone rang. He quickly sat back down and grabbed the phone. "'Ello?" 

"Remy." She said, out of breath. She was hesitant before she decided to talk again, or supposedly to yell at him. 

"I miss you." He proclaimed, cutting her off just as she started to say something.

***  
  
           Pyro whistled to himself as he stared into the darkness. With his knees pressed up against his chest, it was getting hard to breath. After a while, when he realized he could no longer take it, and was running out of air, he struggled to get out of the oversized dryer but he couldn't. "Crikey!" He yelled realizing he was stuck. "Help! For the love of fire, HELP! I'm dyin'! I'm DYIN'! I'm too young to die! Help!" He waited a minute. "_Mommy_!"

Suddenly, the small-circled door opened and after three minutes of trying, he got out. "Golly gee!" He grinned, wrapping his arms around Piotr, his hero. "You saved me, mate! _You saved me_! _My life_!"

"Damn." The Russian sighed.

***

"You are turnin' into a softy." Rogue mumbled several minutes later. He could almost see the smirk form on her lips. Of course he was in a different state, so he really couldn't but just go along with it, for his sake. 

"I blame you." He stated, a smirk forming on his very lips. He slowly ran his tongue over his lips. "So, do you miss me?"

"I ain't flirtin' with ya."

His smirk turned into a smile as he tried his hardest not to roll his eyes. "Never said you had to."

"I'm still mad at ya."

"I know."

"Well.." He had stumped her. He had left her wordless. She bit down on her lower lip as she trailed off. "Good!"

"So, you're chargin' up the phone bill just to tell me that you hate me? Aw, _chérie_, I'm touched."

"Not hate."

"Loathe."

"Ugh, you're impossible!"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome!" And with those words, she slammed the phone down.

He could see her now; pacing around the room muttering how much of a jackass he is. But, if he knew his Rogue, he knew she would call back. The minute the phone rang, his smirk returned, cockier than ever. He casually reached over and picked up the phone.

"Miss me already, _chérie_?" He purred into the phone. 

"Not at all." Came Magneto's snapping reply.

"_Merde_."

***

How was Gambit supposed to know Magneto's phone line was connected with the one in Mystique's office? Well, that's the thing. He didn't. Now, the Cajun sat outside the Bucket-head's office, rubbing the stubble on his chin. 

"Heya!" Pyro happily frolicked down the hall, a grin plastered on his face. Sometimes Remy wondered if being ADHD did this to him, or if it was that the beloved Pyro was actually a druggie. He seemed way too happy and hyper all the time. It never occurred to the Cajun that this could be a cover up; a mask; a shield of his true identify.

"_Bonjour ami_." Remy greeted him as he stood up. "Colossus still got a bounty out for your head?"

Pyro completely ignored his last statement. "The big ol chum saved my life!" His accent became even thicker than usual. "Can ye believe it, mate? He saved my life!"

All Remy could do was pat his head. "I bet he regrets that, eh?"

Pyro nodded in agreement, nodding his head a bit too fast. "You betchya, Gammie."

"Why don't you go play with fire o' somethin'?"

"Ah, tryin' to get rid of me?" He stopped nodding his head and blinked several times.

"_Oui_."

"I can take a hint." The Australian mumbled as he started to walk down the hall, with his head hung low.

"_Merci_." Pyro turned around and gave him a clueless look. "Thank you, St. John."

A true smile formed upon St. John's lips as he saluted his friend and walked down the hall, in search of Colossus. 

***  
  
           Twelve days later, Magneto returned. He walked into his base, a scowl present on his face. Sabretooth came in from behind him, at his heels. "We're heading back to Bayville. I'm setting up a new base up there." He announced, glaring as his team. "It is pointless for us to be here now. We leave first thing tomorrow morning. Any complaints?" No one dared complain. The last thing they wanted was a metal pole shoved up their asses. 

_And of course out of total irony Rogue and I will meet up. _Remy thought to himself, trying his hardest not to sigh. _I hate life._

"I have the feelin' we'll be seein' the X-Men more." Pyro grinned; a dangerous twinkle glimmered in his eyes. "They're the gasoline and I have the match."

"Match? You have a lighter." Piotr spoke up. He stared down at the younger male.

"Same thing!"

Gambit sighed heavily. Why did it seem like someone was writing every moment in his life and making it seem like a bad soap opera?

__

Part two completed – December 15, 2003

_Part two revised – December 16, 2003_

_Firstly, I'd like to thank hnh for beta reading this chapter. :) _

**_Pixie Flyer_**_, about the hole, in Rivals part 3. She let out a short cry when she opened her eyes to see that she had charged a card. She threw it. It swayed across the room, landing next to her closet. Within a minute an explosion was heard out through the mansion. That hole. It caused a hole. I thought people would be able to figure that out.. _

_And for those who didn't like the Ray parts, this is just a reminder: this fic is a ROMY. :)_

_Now I'm going to go get something to eat. I'll try to get the next two chapters up by Sunday. (just not together :P)_

_Read and review!_

_--Aro_


	12. Distance Part 3

***

Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution 

__

A scream didn't dare erupt from her throat as she felt her feet leave the ground. Her eyes were squeezed shut tightly as gravity pulled her down to the ground. Her heart raced as she waited for the impact of her body to hit the hard ground of the danger room but it never happened. She opened her eyes almost immediately and looked down to realize she hovered three feet above the ground. With her white fringes in her face, she looked up to see Jean Grey wavering near the ceiling, staring right back down at her. She had her fingertips pressed against her temples as she concentrated hard.

Out of what seemed like nowhere, a laser projected out from the wall and sent a beam at Jean. The red head easily dodged it, but she forgot about Rogue.

"Ow!" The younger female groaned as she fell those three feet. She took the X symbol off her belt as she sat up, wincing at the pain located in her lower back. With the piece clutched in her hand, she charged it up and flung it at the last remaining laser. _Knew that would come in handy sooner o' later. _She said to herself, smirking as she placed her hands on her hips. "Looks like we're the last two standin' once again, Red." With a nod of the head, her white fringes slightly moved out of her face. "You know the sayin' here: the last one standin' wins." 

"I am aware of that." Jean tapped her head, a smile of her own formed upon her pink lips. "But I'm the one flying. I believe you're the one standing, Rogue." And with those words, she hurled pieces of debris at the Southern with her telekinesis powers. She was impressed at how fast Rogue dodged them, in the year and several months the girl was there, her fighting and agility skills had greatly improved. 

_Stupid advantage. _Rogue sent directly at her. _Why don't you come down here and fight?_

_So you can absorb me? _Jean almost laughed. _But I will lower myself. _And she did. 

Rogue glanced up at the control room where she saw the silhouette of Logan. Within a minute later, the danger room when dark. Pitch black. Rogue's eyes quickly adapted to the light. She knew Remy had 'cat eyes'; he could easily see in the dark. She slowly walked towards the cautious telepath, knowing she was going to scan Rogue's mind to know where she was. Rogue used her stolen empathy powers against her opponent, sending Jean's own emotions right back at her, which created a shield around her mind, not allowing Jean to enter. She phased through a pile of a small mound of debris behind Jean and slowly climbed up it. _Never thought I'd be thankful for Remy's thief skills. _She realized as she lunged out at Jean, wrapping her arms around her neck. She brought her bare hand up to the front of her face and lightly touched it. 

Jean's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and they both fell to the ground. Rogue landed on Jean, feeling lightheaded with all the new memories circulating around in her head. She slowly got to her feet and groaned slightly at the sudden headache forming between her temples. It didn't help when the lights came back on, seeming brighter than ever. 

"Good job, Stripes." The doors slid open as Logan walked in, Cyclops at his heels. "Session over." He yelled and the surrounding debris faded out. The room now looked bare. "I see you're finally learnin' to control the absorbed powers."

_By the cost of other's lives. _Scott said to himself as he picked up the unconscious Jean. He then blinked and then glanced over at Rogue, knowing she how possessed the powers of Jean.

_Yes, I heard that. _She said to him, crossing her arms over her chest. Her smirk was back as she stared at him. It took her a minute to realize Logan was still talking to her. Right as she was about to answer him, Xavier's voice broke through her thoughts. _Rogue, please see me after your training session with Logan. _She raised a brow. If he were a telepath, wouldn't he know the training session was over? _I heard that, Rogue. Come to my office after Logan finishes up talking to you. _"Oh!" She remembered that she was supposed to be listening to Logan. But when she came to her senses, she realized Logan and Scott, who was now helping Jean to her feet, were on their way out. 

"Somethin' wrong?" Logan asked, cocking a brow at her. "Just remember what I said, Stripes." And with those words, he left the danger room.

_Of course I'll remember what you said. _Rogue uncrossed her arms as she made her way out of the room. _You asked if somethin' was wrong, Wolvie. _She decided that was close enough; after all, it was what he had said.

***  
  
           "Don't you ever wonder about it, Rogue? How many powers you can absorb? How long they'll last?" The Professor sat in his wheelchair, behind his desk, across from Rogue. 

"No." She stated in a bored tone. She didn't look amused. The last thing she wanted to talk about was the reason why she was here; her powers. "As far as I'm concerned, Prof, I get a bunch of unwanted memories and absorb their power." Rogue shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "It's not easy, y'know. Now I can phase through things, charge things, move things with my mind and I'm an empath and a telepath." 

"Do you have those powers under control?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "If not, until you do, I recommend you do not absorb anymore powers. We wouldn't want things to get out of control."

She knew he was right; she just got control of Kitty's power. Now, when her alarm clock went off in the morning, she didn't phase through the bed, which actually pleased her. And she didn't charge up the alarm clock when trying to shut it off, which pleased her even more. She went through seven alarms in a week. One a day. The empathy powers never gave her any real trouble, except gave her the emotions of her fellow teammates when she didn't care for them. Now, she had to learn to control telekinesis and telepathy. 

"You can do it." She looked up at the Professor, her grey-green eyes meeting his brown ones. "I know you can." He watched her as she stood up uneasily.

"I'm tired." The Rogue explained, slowly turning around. "And I feel like shit. I'm goin' to go to sleep." And with those words she dragged her feet out of the room, telekinetically opening the door for herself. 

***

           Dreams.

           They weren't her dreams. They were memories, but they weren't her memories. The stolen memories pushed out her own as she slept, making her relive them. 

           She saw Jean flirting with some blonde guy, and Scott glaring at the both of them from behind. She saw a younger Jean meeting the Professor and Scott for the first time. She saw the first time Jean's powers manifested.

           It was like a slideshow of unwanted memories. 

           Unknowingly, random inanimate objects in Rogue's room floated around. Her body, even in her sleeping state, was more than a foot above the bed. 

           _"You guys are too heavy! Have one of you put on weight?" _Voices erupted inside her head as she felt herself fall. A scream shot out from her as she plummeted into the darkness.

           Her body fell limply to the bed, and all the objects dropped into their respective places. Rogue sat up immediately as Kitty, Kurt and Scott barged into her room. 

           All she could do was stare at them blankly. "Who are you guys?" She asked, her voice no higher than a whisper. 

           *** 

           _Short-term memory loss. _Hank McCoy had told them. 'Short-term' was right, considering Rogue blanked out less than a minute later, not recalling to ever asking who anyone was. 

           "This is serious." Professor Xavier tried to explain to Rogue, who now sat, once again, in his office.  "Scott and the others said you had specifically asked 'who are you guys?'"

           "Maybe I asked 'how are you guys?' I mean, they did barge into my room."

           "Everyone in the mansion heard you scream."

           "Maybe they were dreamin' 'bout it."

           His dark brows arched up. "Everyone had the same dream that you screamed at the same time?"

           She shrugged. "Maybe." Rogue then sighed and ran her hand through her white fringes. "Prof, it's not my fault that I have a new psyche in my head." She paused, "Well, maybe it is but still. After absorbing a new load of memories, you expect me to be a-okay? Just give me time to adjust!" 

           The window behind him that was opened just a few inches shut down. The sound echoed out through the office. 

           "I'm sick of bein' called into your office. Just trust me and let me deal with my powers—_on my own_." She turned on her heel and walked out of the office, phasing through the door while mumbling something about taking a walk.

           ***

           Rogue dragged her feet through the grass as she wandered outside the institute, near the wooded area. _Where does Baldy get all this money? _She asked herself, pondering the question. _Maybe I should absorb him and find out. _She shook her head. _No, don't think that way. You have enough memories and psyches in your head. _She shrugged. _I know, but still… _It was then that she stopped dead in her tracks and grunted out loudly. "You're goin' crazy Rogue. Not only are ya talkin' to yourself, but you're answerin' yourself." Suddenly, she heard the sounds of twigs breaking and bushes rustling. "Who's there?" She asked, getting in a fighting stance.

           "Just me." A familiar voice purred walking out from the shadows of the trees. Her lower jaw hung loosely when she saw who it was; Gambit. He stood there, his hands in his pockets, an odd smirk present on his face. 

           "What are you doin' here?" She asked, not missing a beat. _His accent has gotten lazier. _She realized, scrunching up her nose in disgust. _Sounds like he lost it._

           "The better question is, what are you doing here?" He asked, his red eyes refused to meet hers as he scanned her. "You're no X-men, Marie. You don't belong here or with the Acolytes."

           "Who are you?" Rogue asked, staring at him. 

           "I am Remy, _petit'_." He answered after some hesitation. His accent still didn't seem authentic. But it looked like Gambit, so wasn't it him? It sounded like him, lacking his Cajun accent, so wasn't it him?

           "No you're not." She stretched out her arms, spread out her fingers and using her stolen telekinesis powers, she lifted him up into the air. His weight made her wince; she wasn't used to this. _I'll ask again; who are you?_ She projected to him. _If you don't give me a correct answer, I will phase you half way through the Earth. Don't test me. _She had attempted to scan his mind—but was blocked. 

           "You win." The person stared and before Rogue's every own eyes, Remy transformed into the blue skinned, red haired woman. Rogue immediately dropped her, recognizing her right away. 

           "What do you want?" She spat, angrily at the older woman. "And how did you know my name? Did Remy tell you? _Did Remy rat me out_?" She raised her voice frantically for the last sentence, not wanting to believe he had done that to her.

           "He didn't need to. I know everything about you, Marie."

           "Stop callin' me _that_!" Who did this woman think she was? "Do you ya think you are?" 

           "Raven _Darkholme_." Mystique smirked at her after seeing her face fall. "I am your birth mother."

           "Lies." 

           "Afraid not, Marie."

           "Stop callin' me that!" An invisible force nearly knocked Mystique over. "Kurt said you were his mother. I-if that's true, then he's.. and we don't look.. And you're not my mother! I don't have a mother."

           "Kurt is my son, and you are my daughter."

           "Shut up!" Another invisible force shot out at Mystique, nearly knocking her over again. 

           "I can see that _you_ have a temper."

           "I said, _shut up_!" A force came shooting out at Mystique again, this time this one knocked her back over three feet. She landed hard against a tree, breathing heavily. 

           "Irene was right. You _are_ a powerful mutant." She said, her chest heaving as she regained her posture. "Just imagine what you can do when you learn to control all of it."

           "You disgust me." Rogue snapped, fighting back tears. "I'm more than a mutant, y'know."

           "You weren't meant to be." Mystique said hastily. "You're an experiment Magneto and I had decided on after I lost Kurt."

           "What—"

           "Rogue!" A red beam of light shot into the air as Cyclops and several other mutants showed up. "Mystique." He growled as the blue skinned woman changed into a bird and flew up into the sky. He had attempted several shots at her, all of them missing. When she was gone he ran up to Rogue. "Why didn't you call for us?"

           "Are you alright?" Berzerker showed up behind him, concern flashed in his eyes as he scanned her to make sure she hadn't been harmed. "What happened?"

           "I'm not sure." She answered softly as she wrapped her arms around herself. "But I have a feelin'.. somethin' bad is gonna happen." She looked up into the dark. "Soon."

           __

           _Part three completed – December 17, 2003_

_           Part three revised – December 18, 2003_

_           A big thank you to my beta reader, **hnh**. _

_           Also, may I point out that this is an A/U. I have tweaked powers so if something is different, that's why. _

_           **Kagii**, what do you mean by the Pyro anti-good? 'Cause I'm just wonderin'.._

_           I have an original story? :)_

_           Anyway, next segment should be up by.. 2004!_

_           Thank y'all who reviewed. :P I love you **ALL**. You all deserve cookies. A cookie and ¾! ;)_

_           -- Aro ^^ _


	13. Fated Part 1

           ***

           Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

           __

           _"Do you have it?" A man snapped into the darkness. _

_           "Of course I have it." The other man, who sat in a chair, facing the opposite direction, said slowly turning around to face the other male. "Although, It will cost you a pretty penny."_

_           "The price is worth it." The man snapped again. "But it better work, Spears, it better work."_

_           "Oh, the ingredients to it will work against the genes but I can't stay your plan will work."_

_           The man smirked at him. "It will work. Believe me. I have ways and I will make sure someday mutants will never exist."_

           ***

           A small drip of drool dropped from the corner of St. Johns compressed lips, as he looked around the new base, or rather the new control room. Buttons were everywhere, waiting for him to push them. He licked his lips as he slowly inched more and more into the room. 

           Piotr made a face at the younger male as fire glazed in his eyes. The two dark green eyes were locked on the control panels. Not a good sign. He glanced over at Remy who just leaned against the wall, flipping cards from one hand to another. 

           Okay, so his teammates weren't exactly sane. He had gotten used to Pyro's insanity. He was surprised that Magneto put up with the hyperactive seventeen-year-old, but, surprisingly enough, he did.

           "No." Colossus put a stern hand on Pyro's shoulder. "Do not destroy it." He paused as Pyro glanced up at him with wide eyes. "Yet."

           *** 

           "You were talking to Mystique?" Kurt asked softly as he bamf'd into Rogue's room. She was sitting on her bed in black sweats, reading a hard covered book. She looked at him, half surprised and half annoyed at the fact he didn't knock before entering. 

           "Yeah." She answered with hesitation. _Should've lied. Still can. _She closed her book slowly and looked at him as he sat himself down at the end of her bed. 

           "Did she—" He bit down on his lower lip. "Say anything about me?"

           She glanced down at the thin quilt, and traced the patterns with her fingertip. "No." She sighed, still looking down. "Actually, I can't even really remember." She glanced up at him, knowing he remembered the incident from earlier. "If I remember anything, you'll be the first to know." She forced a small smile.

           "I guess this means you're going to be seeing Gambit."

           She gave him a blank look and blinked. "Excuse me?"

           "If Mystique is here, I bet Magneto and his team are."

           "Yeah." She brushed white strands of hair out of her face and tucked them behind her ear. "Guess we should be gettin' ready to head out at two A.M. to fight 'em." She paused with an eye roll. "Again."

           He cracked a smile. "Next time Logan should pretend they're _squirrels_."

           She chuckled softly as she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "How did you find out _she_ was your mother?" The hair she had tucked behind her ear seconds earlier fell back into place.

           "She told me." He stated with a shrug. "Did you know Ray keeps pacing back and forth outside your door?"

           She made a face. "He's turnin' into my stalker."

           "Want me to bamf him over to Africa?" The blue fuzzy one asked, standing up. His smile got wider when she laughed.

           "Maybe later." She decided, tucking the white hair between her ear, once again. "I'll keep it as an IOU."

           "Just think of it as a free bamf anywhere, anytime ticket." And with those words, he bamf'd out of her room.  

           Rogue smiled to herself as she stretched out on her bed, and closed her eyes. 

           ***

           "I don't think I'll ever understand you." 

           "Strange, my pa used to tell me that." Remy smirked at St. John who looked tired. Bags were forming under his eyes, which were more visible with his orange visor off. "Your father ever say that to you that, _homme_?"

           "Maybe—did your father like your eyes?"

           "Never saw 'em. Your father like your fire controllin' powers?" He could imagine Pyro getting a lighter taken off him for setting the cat on fire. 

           "Never lived to see 'em." He laughed slightly, not wanting to push the conversation anymore. "Bloody hell. Where is Piotr?" He asked, mispronouncing the Russian's name as he looked around. 

           "Probably still guardin' the control room."

           "Heh, yeah. Guess I'm going to have to get that brute to trust me." 

           "Good luck on _that_. Since your room is next to his, I bet he's goin' to sleep with his eyes opened."

           "Yeah." Pyro mumbled, without even the slightest chuckle. 

           ***

           _"You're not a freak. Things like that don't matter here."_

_           "I'm already with the crippled bald guy."_

           _"Not even you could take us all out."_

_           "You called your gift a curse, if you go with him I guarantee you, it will be."_

Rogue tossed and turned. The sheets were all twisted up and wrapped around her legs as she groaned and continued to turn around in her sleepless slumber. She mumbled a few words, which sounded like audible babbler but inside her head the words made sense; they came from memories. Usually her dreams consisted of forgotten memories but now, they were just words. The words soon got louder and _louder_ as they echoed through out her head. She sat up, still in a sleeping state and screamed. She screamed for it all to stop.

           Her body phase through the sheets that were encircled around her, through the bed she sat upon and the floor her bed was set upon. She screamed as her body fell. Her eyes were tightly shut as she waited for the impact of her body hitting the hard ground but it never happened. 

           Her eyes popped open and she found herself hovering no more than an inch above the ground. Her breaths came out in uneasy gasps as Kurt and Kitty appeared in the doorway of the rec room. Rogue's body fell that inch that kept her from nearly killing herself. 

           "Rogue, are you alright?" Kurt was by her side in no time, Kitty behind them. He set his hand on her shoulder but she let out a startled cry.

           "Don't touch me!" Her arm swung up, her bare hand hitting him in the face. He felt a jolt run through his body, rendering him unconscious. Kitty ran to get help when his body fell forward, onto Rogue, unconsciously. 

           "Oh my god." Rogue whispered as the memories hit her like a truck; a truck that had forgotten to slam on its breaks and waited for the final impact. Her eyes slowly closed as she slipped into darkness.

           ***

           A ball of flames, that resembled a deranged smiley face, came charging at him. Gambit shot out charged cards from between his fingers at Pyro who had an evil maniacal laughter trait going on.  Another ball of fire came at him in the other direction. Suddenly Gambit knew why Pyro was probably given this power. He easily dodged the two fireballs as they collided in with each other. So easily that he had gotten a scorch mark on his shoulder. He quickly rolled on the roll, pulled out a card, charged it and flicked it over at behind Pyro's feet. A smirk came across his face when he heard the explosion, a thud and a muffled '_ow_.' He looked up to see that the flames that perished.

           "You wounded—" Pyro sat up and held his flamethrower dearly in his arms. "My _crony_—my _pal_—my _best_ friend!"

           "Sorry _homme_—"

           "_Sorry_? I'll show you—" He looked both furious and upset as he reached into his pocket but in a second, his face fell, he took his hand out and just shrugged. "It's all right." A grin surpassed his face. "Still got me lighter!" 

           _Mon dieu. This homme needs the opposite of anger management classes. _Remy thought to himself. _Looks like he was already in 'em but—_He realized his thoughts made no sense and just allowed a song that he had recently heard to play over and over in his head. He glanced up at the control room to see Colossus staring down at them.

           ***

           "Where is that overgrown tin can?" Mystique asked as she impatiently paced back and forth in the dark alley. 

           "He should be at the top of your worries." Irene stood a few feet away from her. "You really screwed it up with Rogue and revealed too much information to her. What did you think, Raven? She'd come running to you because you're her mother?" 

           "It was worth a shot!" Mystique hissed. Her blood began to boil. "We were better off keeping her and Gambit friends that way we could recruit her!"

           Destiny shook her head firmly. "The X-Men would try to recruit them and Rogue has a natural instinct for what's good."

           "Don't you see any good vision?"

           "I see many visions, Raven, and right now Magneto is not in any of them."

           "Are you s-saying—"

           "He's missing."

           ***

           "You want to _what_?" Rogue sat on the bed in the medical room with her arms crossed. It had been hours since she accidentally absorbed Kurt, and somehow managed to push the unwanted memories far back into her mind.

           "Hank would like to watch your brain waves as you sleep." Xavier tried to explain more clearly but she just stared at him with both of her brows arched up. "We don't want anymore accidents with you falling through the floor."

           "Yeah, I'm lucky I caught myself so I'd be a pancake." She smirked at the though. "And thanks to Kurt, I can—" A loud **bamf** sound and grey smoke appeared and a second later Rogue reappeared and coughed as she used her hand as a fan to push away the smoke. "Bamf. How does he do it?"

           "How do you do it, is the question." Hank said. "Do you permanently keep the absorb powers? Are they temporary? Do the memories you—"

           "I get it, I get it." She brushed him off impatiently, not caring much about the unanswered questions about her powers. It wasn't as if she would phase them halfway through the earth, or bamf them into the Atlantic Ocean. "So, you're goin' to hook me up to a machine while I sleep and sit there starin' at the brain wave patterns?"

           "That is correct."

           "Don't any of you have lives? O' sleep at night?" 

           Hank and Xavier exchanged glances. "Have fun, Beast." Xavier informed him as he rolled out of the room.

           ***

           "I guess it's a good thing that a _homme_ that can control fire doesn't have anger problems." Gambit stood in a large room, talking to Colossus who moved boxes from one side of the room to the other. "But ain't it weird?"

           "No." The large Russian replied, walking past him. "St. John's past life is none of our business, Gambit."

           "But _St_. John? That guy ain't no _saint_!" Gambit nearly laughed, "Can you imagine him givin' a sermon? It'd probably contain the word 'fire' eight hundred times and be about the importance's of gasoline." 

           _Don't even bother. _Piotr told himself. "I—" He was cut off when Mystique barged into the room, looking angry. She stomped into the room, Destiny following in behind her.

           "There has been a change of plans." She announced, glaring at the two, not noticing the absent pyromaniac one. "Magneto is gone. **I** am in charge now." 

           _Merde. We're doomed for. _Gambit realized; resisting the urge to blow the blue skinned woman up. It wasn't easy, but he managed. 

           "The first thing we do is find out is if the X-Men had anything to do with this." That piece of information seemed to get Gambit's attention. 

           ***

           _Part one completed – December 22, 2003_

_           I want to inform everyone that I spent about two hours baking cookies. And during that time I burnt a batch because I was sitting here trying to get over writers block. I hope y'all are happy! That's about 88 cookies and 12 burnt ones. (They're for a party tomorrow)_

_           Anyway, I'm two million percent sure that I won't be updating by Christmas, so Merry Christmas y'all! (And Happy holidays)_

_           My birthday is next Monday ;) and I'll be sure to update by then that way you can all review for my birthday! That's an uber great present!_

_           Good bye.. for now ;)_

_           --Aro _


	14. Fated Part 2

         ***

         Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

         __

         _"A sports drink, Kelly? You expect to take out the entire Mutant race with a sports drink?"_

         The man smiled. "The ingredients are what will do it. Doubt me now, will you? Guess I'll have conduct a little experiment."

__

         Gambit paced around the room, a perplexed look planted across his face, his arms were folded behind his back and he looked like he was in a deep thought as he walked back and forth. Pyro sat on the couch, his eyes following the pacing Cajun and Colossus was standing next to the couch, standing straight up against the wall with his arms folded tightly over his chest. 

         Sabretooth suddenly barged into the room. Oh, how the three wished that the overgrown neutered cat had disappeared instead of Magneto. Actually, if the both of them and Mystique and Irene had all went missing, it would be like a Christmas present for them. Of course it wasn't possible for all four of them to disappear off the face of the world, so they just forgot about the idea. 

         Sabretooth just growled nonsense at them. The poor ol' chap wasn't happy. He was the only loyal one to Magneto and now that the brute was missing, he would have to take orders from Mystique. He didn't like her. At all. He stomped out of the room. His misery was noticed to everyone, but they didn't care. 

         "I hope a building collapses on 'im." Pyro stated after several minutes of silence. "I don't think anyone would even miss the bloke."

         "He would probably survive the collapsing of the building." Colossus said slowly as he uncrossed his arms. He opened his mouth to say more, but Pyro suddenly jumped out of his seat and cut him off.

         "Will ya stop doin' that?" He asked Gambit. The Australian looked annoyed as he glared at Gambit. Across the room, a candle was burning. The small flame suddenly grew larger and swayed back and forth. Piotr was the only one to notice. 

         "_Non_."Gambit suddenly grabbed Pyro by the collar of his uniform and lifted him up, making him stand on his toes. "You goin' to stop me _homme_?" 

         "No." St. John squeaked. His eyes were wide. What if the Cajun accidentally charged up his uniform? That wouldn't be fun for anyone. Pyro would be dead, Gambit would be charged for murder and poor Piotr would have to clean up Pyro's pieces. 

         "Put him down." Colossus ordered, putting a stern hand on Gambit's shoulder. "_Now_." They all knew Piotr was a sensitive, caring guy but he was also over 6' 0" and could transform into a metallic 7' 8" monster… still the same caring guy, just a _little_ taller…

         "Sorry 'John." Gambit set him down; his red eyes slightly glowed un-noticeably in the room. St. John opened his mouth to make a smart remark but Remy suddenly shoved a card into the gap and without saying a word, he walked out of the room. 

         "Gee." Pyro took out the card, to see that it was a Joker and made a face. "What's his problem?" Piotr just gave him a stern shrug. Pyro shrugged himself as he brought the card up to his mouth and nibbled on the corner. 

         ***

         "I've made a list of Christmas tree assignments." Jean walked into the living room carrying a sheet of paper. The younger mutants groaned and rolled their eyes. 

         "Isn't decorating the tree supposed to be _fun_?" The teenaged Asian girl, Jubilee, asked pulling down on the sleeves of her yellow jacket. 

         "Not in this house." Rogue mumbled, bringing her knees up to her chest. Jean shot her a look, but when on.

         "Rogue and I will hang the ornaments on the top—"

         "Rogue?" Rogue asked, arching a brow. "Why me?"

         "Because you and I have telekinesis." The red head said slowly, as if she were making it easier to comprehend. 

         Kitty just mumbled something as she glanced up at the clock. "Can we get this over with already? My parents are going to be here in, like, four hours." She stood up, ready to take charges. "Bobby, Sam and Roberto will drag in the boxes of ornaments, tinsel, and the basics for the tree, Jubes, Rahne, Kurt and I will takes them out, and Jean, Scott and Rogue will all help us. Any questions?" She waited half a second. "No? Okay then, lets get a move on!" 

         _She needs to stop hanging out with Jean. _Rogue said to herself as the others got up to do their jobs. 

         _I heard that. _Jean sent telepathically to her. _Since you have my powers, and I am a telepath, you're going to have to learn not to project your thoughts so loudly if you don't want them being heard. _

_         Or, I can just block you out now. _Rogue gave her a small smile as she put up her mental shields. _I can't wait until she leaves. What a present that is._ She smiled to herself. 

         "You know Rogue, my parents wouldn't mind at all if you came over." Ray sat himself down next to Rogue; a sly smile was pressed upon his face. 

         "But _I_ would." She grimaced when she heard a box fall and the sound of glass ornaments breaking. 

         "Why? You want to stay here with _Scott_?" He nudged her gently, which just made her glare at him. 

         "Yeah 'cause I'm madly in love with him."

         "Really?"

         "No." 

         "Maybe I—"

         "Rogue, _come on_." Kitty said, walking in front of the couch with her hands placed on her hips. "We don't have all day." She reached out, grabbed Rogue's gloved wrist and pulled her up. 

         ***

         "What is _that_?" Remy stood in the doorway of Piotr's room, cocking an eyebrow. "A fire extinguisher?" 

         "St. John gave it to me."

         Remy made a face. "Think he's tryin' to tell you somethin'?" He suddenly chuckled. "Knowin' that boy, it's a _pun_ of some sort." 

         Piotr almost smiled. "I think it is a nice gift."

         "_Oui_." He ran out of things to say. "I'm goin' out. Be back in a few. If Mystique asks where I went, tell 'er to shove it." He knew his teammate would never say such words, but he had said it without thinking. 

         "You would not happen to be going out to see a certain female Southern would you, Gambit?"

         "_Non_, she'd probably lynch me with tinsel an' make me an ornament." He smirked at the mental image of that. "Out of love of course."

         "Mm hmm." Was the only reply he got from the Russian. 

         ***

         "It's falling over!" Jubilee dashed out of the way, grabbing onto Bobby's arm as he stumbled back. 

         "Timber!" Sam yelled as he too, ran out of the way. 

         "I told you guys to be more careful!" Jean gave out a frustrated sigh as she stopped the tree right before it hit the ground. 

         "Well excuse us for trying to help while you and Cyke made out in the hallway." Jubilee let go of Iceman's arm and threw her own arms up in the air. "I give up! I need to go pack anyway."

         "Then I guess it's just us." Jean said to Bobby and Sam. The other mutants had already taken off.

         "Or, just _you_." The other two remaining mutants walked out of the room, fed up with the tree. 

         Scott entered the room, a smile was pressed onto his face and his arms were folded loosely over his chest. "Need some help?"

         Jean dropped the paper listing the Christmas tree assignments on it, and shook her head. "Screw it."

         ***

         "How long until Jean notices we're gone?" Kurt asked plopping himself down on Kitty's bed.

         "She's a telepath. She already knows." Rogue commented, picking up a snow globe off from Kitty's desk and shook it. "I thought you wanted to decorate the tree, Kit."

         "I'm not big on Christmas. I just wanted to, like, get it out of the way but no one else seemed enthused about it so what's the point? We're all leaving today anyway." Rogue cleared her throat, which made Kitty realize her mistake. Her face turned beet red. "Ohmigosh, I'm sorry Rogue! I kind forgot you and Scott don't have families." If it was possible, her face got even redder. "That came out wrong—"

         "Why don't you come home with me and spend the holidays with me and my family?" Kurt offered Rogue but she shook her head.

         "No thanks, Kurt. They're your family.." She forced a small smile as she glanced over at him. "I'm lookin' forward to havin' the institute to myself." She made a face. "And Scott. But I'm hopin' he'll spend most of the time on the phone with Jean." 

         "I heard Mr. McCoy mentioning something about going caroling.." Kitty pressed her index finger up to her lower lip. "I think.." She shrugged. "Try getting out of that."

         "I have _ways_, Kitten, I have _ways_.."

         Kurt nodded. "She's a _telepath_."

         ***

         "Where is that Swamp rat fool?" Mystique asked, pacing around the room hours later. 

         "Maybe he's in the _john_." Pyro suggested; amused at the pun he used. Mystique didn't look too amused. 

         "I de—"

         "I'm right here." Gambit walked into the room, his red eyes glowed like two floating orbs in the darkness. "You goin' to stand there and threat _mon ami_ there o' we goin' to get goin'?" 

         ***

         Kitty's parents soon came, avoiding any eye contact with the other mutants the few short minutes they were there, along with just about everyone else's parents, or relatives. Ororo had left early that morning to visit her sister. The only mutants staying at the mansion were Xavier, Hank, Logan, Rogue and Scott, who was now waving to Jean as she got into the backseat of the car and disappeared down the road. He noticed an impatient Wolverine standing by the X-van, waiting for a certain mutant and turned around to see that certain mutant, Ray, saying his good byes to Rogue.

         "If you need me, just call."

         "I _won't_ need you."

         "I'll _miss_ you _too_." He turned around, made his way down the front stairs and wandered over to the impatient Wolverine. 

         "It's weird." Scott glanced over, behind his shoulder, at Rogue. "He still fights with Roberto yet, he's a softie when it comes to you."

         "What?" She asked bitterly. "You gonna accuse me of somehow makin' him like me? Sorry, he ain't my type."

         "And your type must be the bad boys who can blow up cards and there's only one of those."

         "Why Cyke—" She resisted the urge to render him unconscious. "You can blow up cards with your _little_ eye blasts."

         "You know what I meant!"

         "Do I?" She asked softly, and then turned on her heel and walked inside the institute. 

         ***

         Her eyes snapped open when she heard the alarm go off. She reached over for the alarm clock, wanting to shut it off but then it hit her.  It wasn't her alarm clock. She jumped out of bed and quickly changed into her X-uniform. When she got outside her bedroom, the hallway was dark.

         "Scott?" She called, thinking he would already be waiting outside her bedroom with a stopwatch and would be waiting to give her an earful. _Scott? _She sent out telepathically to him. 

         _Outside. I think we have company. _She heard him respond, minutes later. _Are you waiting for an invitation? Get out here! Logan and Hank already are!_

Her heart began to race as she ran down the hall and hurried down the steps. __

         ***

         "I can't feel my toes!" 

         "Then defrost them." Gambit snapped, shoving Pyro out of the way as he walked forward the institute. He slipped out a card from his pocket, charged it and then flicked it at the fence. "Hope they like their wakenin' call."

         "Don't you mean awakenin' card?" 

         "_Shut up_!"

         "Shutting up, mate!" Pyro slowly inched back as the alarms blared. He looked over at Colossus. "_Someone_ is cranky today."

         "What are you guys doing here?" Cyclops appeared before them as they walked through the busted gate. "Shouldn't you three be going through chimneys and robbing children of their stockings and presents?"

         "Nah, we thought we'd be original this year!" Pyro grinned as he released his flames.

         __

         _Part two completed – December 25, 2003_

_         Sorry it's short but I decided to write a Christmas chapter! The idea came out of nowhere and I probably somehow screwed up the timeline for this, but I don't care. _

_         Merry Christmas y'all! Don't say I never gave ya anything._

_         -- Aro ___


	15. Fated Part 3

         ***

         Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

         __

         Rogue was a trained fighter; she was supposed to gallop gracefully down the front stairs of the institute, ready to attack whoever dared threaten the institute. The key word is _supposed to_. She phased through the front door, lost her balance as she quickly ran down the steps and stumbled down the last few. 

         "We just want to know where Magneto is." Gambit flipped cards from one hand to the other. "We can do this the easy way—" He charged up the cards "Or the hard way." He uncharged the deck, a smirk was planted on his face. 

         _Magneto? _Rogue asked herself as she walked over behind Cyclops, Hank and Wolverine. 

         "That a threat, Gumbo?" With a _snickt _sound, six claws ejected themselves out from Wolverine's hands. He didn't trust any of them. _Especially_ the pyromaniac.

         "What makes you think we know anything about Magneto?" Hank suddenly quipped up. "Don't you three _work_ for him?"

         They were all startled when Rogue, out of nowhere, laughed. "They _lost_ Magneto!" She subconsciously avoided eye contact with Gambit as she walked toward. "Why don't y'all blow a dog whistle o' somethin'? Maybe he'll come runnin' home." 

         "_Haha_." Pyro rolled his eyes. "Ain't she a comedian?" The flames in his hands got higher. 

         "Well, sorry that I'm not _Magneto's bitch_."

         Remy felt the sudden anger that passed through Pyro. The Pyromaniac then released his flames at the four X-Men. Remy grabbed him roughly by the shoulder.

         "You hurt 'er and I'll kill you." His eyes glowed brightly, showing he was serious. 

         "She's the enemy, _mate_." He growled, not happy at the threat. "Get over her."

         ***

         Rogue walked around the back of the mansion, carefully looking around her surroundings cautiously. Sabretooth had showed up, occupying Wolverine, and Pyro and Colossus kept Cyclops and the Beast busy. 

         "_Bonjour_ _chérie_." Before she had a chance to react, a force knocked across into feet, making her fall on her bottom. Wincing at the pain, she glanced up to see Gambit standing there, smirking proudly with his bo staff clutched in his hand. "This better than the _phone_, no?" He stared at her, and the second when she tried to move, he moved down, pinning her to the ground. "What's the matter? Haven't you missed Gambit?"

         "Bite me."

         "Sure thing." He purred in his thick Cajun accent as he let go of his grip on her wrists and slid down her. She let out a cry of surprise when she felt his teeth sink into her hip. 

       "Gross!" She snapped pushing him away from her. She couldn't believe he did that. "What the hell are you? A vampire?" 

         "Like you didn't enjoy it."

         "Before you know it, you're goin' to be eatin' me alive."

         "A dream come true for both of us, no?" He smirked and wiggled his brows suggestively at her. 

         "Dream on."

         "With you? Any time, _chérie_." He said, winking at her.

         ***

         "Hey look, it's a birdie!" Pyro kept himself amused by the sculptures he made with fire. "Now, watch the birdie eat you!" One of Cyclops's optic blasts shot through the bird, making Pyro's face fall. The young Australian frowned but suddenly, Colossus stumbled back, accidentally hitting Cyclops and knocking him out cold. "And that's what you get for shootin' my birdie!" 

         ***

         "You take one step closer to me and I'm gonna send ya right into dream land, buddy." 

         Remy frowned, ever so slightly. "What's the matter, Ro'? You no trust Remy anymore?"

         "No."

         "That hurts."

         "Good!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "What are ya doin' here, _Gambit_?"

         "Long answer? To find out Mags' whereabouts. Short answer? To give you this.." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wrapped box. With it set on his palm, he reached out his arm so she would take it but she just stared at him. "Don't worry, it ain't goin' to blow up." He waited for her to take it. She just continued to stare at him. "You don't trust me that much? Now that hurts." He bent down and placed the box on the ground and took a few steps back. "Now will you take it?"

         "Remy, I—" Her heart fluttered as she began to speak only to be interrupted by Wolverine, who sneaked up behind Gambit and grabbed him by his collar. 

         "Don't come 'ere attacking us for no reason, Gumbo. If you ask nicely I bet Chuck would try to help." Wolverine glanced over at Rogue who looked paler than usual. "You alright, Stripes?"

         Rogue just touched the part of her hip where Gambit had bitten her and she slowly nodded her head. "I'm fine. He ain't nothin' I can't handle." 

         "_Monsieur_, would you remove your hands from my coat?" Gambit stared awkwardly down at the short Canadian. 

         Wolverine did let go of him, but gave him his dangerous glare. "Why don't you _kids_ get out of here?"

         _Logan, please send everyone to my office. _Xavier's voice suddenly cut through his thoughts. 

         _Chuck—_

_         Now, please._

***

         "This place looks like it got bigger." Remy commented as he walked into the mansion. 

         "Crikey! This place is more gigantic'er than Australia!" The Australian half joked as he looked around. His flamethrower was in his hands, cut up thanks to a certain short-tempered short-standing Canadian. "This means ye brutes are replacin' my Sheila here." 

         "It's a flamethrower." Colossus said, looking down at him.

         "_My_ flamethrower!"

         "Just keep walkin' and don't try anythin' funny." Wolverine warned as they reached Xavier's office. 

         "Why do I have a feelin' we're walkin' right into our own deathtrap?" St. John asked, after receiving another growl from Wolverine. 

         "Because we are." Gambit smirked and glanced over at Rogue, giving her a wink.

         ***

         "Destiny and Mystique called me."

         "If they called ya, why did they send us here?"

         "Destiny knew you three would muddle things up."

         "What does this have to do with _mud_?"

         Gambit stepped in. "'John?"

         "Yeah?"

         "Shut up."

         "Shutting up!" The pyromaniac declared chirpily. 

         The Professor went on, "She explained to be that Magneto has gone missing. Mystique had just proclaimed he had been kidnapped."

         "Who would kidnap that fool?" Logan mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. He was simply ignored. 

         "I understand you three are considered our enemies, but Magnus is an old friend of mine and it is important that we find him." 

         "Isn't Mags a big boy? Can't he take care of 'imself? The guy can control metal for cryin' out loud. Where ever he is has to have some sort of metal somewhere." Rogue rolled her eyes. "Plus, it's Christmas. Maybe.. he went on vacation." Everyone just stared at her. "You know what? I'm goin' to go help Hank with Cyke."

         Gambit just smirked as she hurried out of the room.

         ***

         "I'm fine." Was the first thing Rogue heard when she reached the medical wing of the institute. 

         _Sure_ _sounds like Cyke is up. _She stated obviously as she entered the room, her hands placed on her hips. "Have a good nap, eh boy?" 

         Cyclops just glared at her from the other side of his visor. "Not funny Rogue. I'll have you know I had a concussion."

         "Yeah, from when ya walked into Colossus." She smirked, trying not to laugh. "I bet you're sad Jean isn't here to kiss your head and make it all better."

         "I bet you're sad Berzerker isn't here to stalk you."

         "You know it. Him not bein' here.." She placed her hand mockingly over her heart. "Just breaks me apart." 

         "I bet."

         "Now, now you too!" Hank appeared in the room. "If you're not going to get along, someone has to leave." Both males looked over at Rogue.

         "Geez, a girl can take a hint."

         ***

         "So, who's Ray?" Rogue was startled when she walked into the privacy of her bedroom to see two red orbs staring back at her in the darkness from inside her room. She flipped on the light switch to see Remy sitting on her bed, holding a piece of paper of some sort. "'Rogue, try not to miss me too much. I'll be thinking of you. Love, Ray.'" He read out loud. "Found it on your pillow." He dropped the paper, not showing too much interest. 

         "Get out of my room, ya dirty Swamp rat!" But, he just leaned back, supporting himself on his elbows. "What, do ya not understand English? _Hors d'ici_!" He just smirked at her in return. "Why aren't ya with the Prof?"

         "'Rene and Mystique showed up. They're all talkin' in 'is office now."

         She stared at him, deadpanned. "_Irene_ is _here_?" 

         "Oui _cherie_." He bolted up off the bed the minute she turned around and grabbed her by her gloved wrists. "Where you goin' Ro'?"

         "I'm goin' to go kick some ass!" She tried to pull herself out of his grip, but ended up making herself fall against the wall across from her room. "She has no right to be here!" She groaned, still struggling. "And for all I know, you're Mystique!"

         "Why the hell would I be that _fille_?" He asked, grunting softly as he pressed his body against hers. She was turned to the side, so her shoulder dug into his chest. 

         "Let go of me!" And with those words, she phased through his grip and he fell through her, hitting his face on the wall. He mumbled a few cuss words in French and rubbed the sore flesh on his face. "Sorry." Rogue mumbled, not sounding apologetic at all. "You alright?" He looked up at her. The second his eyes met hers, her stomach went into a flutter.

         "No, but I will be if you kiss me all better.."

         "I already have enough of you in my head, thanks."

         ***

         "Are you sure it's a good idea to let the Aussie wander around out there alone?" Logan pointed out, towards the door.

         "He is powerless without fire." Irene stated, sitting down. "He can only control flames, not make them."

         "Well, doesn't that make me feel so much better." Logan mumbled dryly, only to receive a look from Xavier. 

         ***

         "I can't believe they trust us in this place!"

         "The Professor is a telepath." Colossus reminded him as he followed the younger male down the hall.

         "So what? Does that make him see all and now all?"

         "Yes." 

         Pyro turned around and gave him a small wave with his hand. "You're no fun!"

         "What are you two doin'?" Rogue stood at the end of the hallway, glaring at the two males. Gambit stood next to her, smirking at both of them. "I swear, if you guys try anythin' remotely funny—" She thought about who she was dealing with. "O' _stupid_, both of your heads are mine."

         "What about him?" St. John pointed at the Cajun, who's smirk suddenly dropped. "Lemme guess, the Sheila _still_ has you whipped!"

         "I don't trust 'im any farther than I can throw 'im."

         "Sure." Gambit smirked, brushing his fingers up against her lower back. He exhaled sharply when she elbowed him hard in the stomach.

         "_Don't_ touch me." She warned, glaring at him sideways. "And if you bite me again I'm going to make sure you need dentures before you're twenty."        

         Pyro winked and nudged Colossus, which only made him wince in pain since the Russian was in his metal form. "Hear that mate? Gammie bit 'er." 

         "I need to get out of here." Rogue mumbled, shaking her head.

         _Rogue, please escort the Acolytes to my office. _Xavier sent telepathically to her. 

         That's when Rogue remembered Irene was still here. Irene, the woman who had all the answers she needed to know.

         "C'mon!" She broke out into a run, leaving the three males clueless. 

         ***

"Where is she?" Rogue demanded as she barged into Xavier's office to find the room empty, except for Xavier who was still sitting behind his desk. "You let her go? That woman lied to me for eighteen years, Professor!"

         "Did the floor just _shake_?" Pyro asked, half-joking as he looked down at the ground. 

         "I have to go find her—" The furious Southerner turned on her heel to go after Irene but Gambit grabbed her arm in attempt to stop her. 

         "Her intentions were good, _petit'_." He stared into her grey green eyes until she didn't remain tense in his grip. "C'mon _mes amis_." He gestured his two teammates. "Lets go enjoy our free time while we have it." He winked at the Professor.

         And within a minute later, the Acolytes were gone.

         ***

         Rogue walked back into her room, a few hours later, after eating dinner with Hank, The Professor and a cranky Scott. She was beat tired, especially after only getting a few short hours of sleep. When she got into her room, and flipped on the light switch, one thing caught her eye; the small wrapped box Gambit had been trying to give her was set neatly on her pillow. A small smile crossed her face. 

         __

         _Part three completed – December 27, 2003        _

_         Part three revised – December 29, 2003_

_         A big thanks to my editor, **hnh**. _

_         Also, Kagii, you are correct. There will be more about Pyro's past in future episodes. Ish, Pyro likes to throw in puns where ever possible ;). Danfred, yes I am aware Kit is Jewish, which is why I made her try to get Christmas over with so she could spend some time with her family. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas, or Hanukah, or Kwanzaa.. whatever.. _

_         **HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LOVELYLADY WHO SHARES THE SAME BIRTHDAY WITH ME! WOO! 12-29! Happy birthday to us! (You see, Love, we have a special bond now; we know what it's like to get gypped because of our birthday and Christmas being so close together.)**_

****

****_ And because I'm so caring (and have half of the next chapter completed) here is a clippet from the next chap:_

_"How the hell are you gettin' back to Russia?" A non-happy looking Pyro asked. "Are you goin' to walk there o' somethin'?" _

_         "Charles Xavier said he would provide transportation for me." _

_         "You're going to trust our enemy? He's gonna drop you in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!" _

_         "He is a kind man."_

         "He's a bald, crippled old guy! Of course he's gonna be kind to ya, mate!"

         _That's all you're going to get._

_         Until next time,_

_         -- Aro_


	16. Missing Part 1

         ***

         Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

         __

         The nineteen-year-old Australian, St. John Allerdyce, alias Pyro, dragged his feet down the hall, mumbling obscenities. He wore his usual orange and red body suit, but lost his visor somewhere in the base. He walked past the Russian's room, glancing inside but kept walking. About five steps later he stopped, walked back five steps and arched a brow.

         "Mate, what in the name of bloody hell are you doing?" He folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe. 

         Piotr just stood there, packing all his belongings, which wasn't much, into a large green duffel bag. "I am packing my stuff, St. John."

         "I can see that, but _why_?" 

         "I am departing back to Russia."

         "_Russia_?" He asked skeptically, "What the heck is in _Russia_?" He seemed to have forgotten Piotr was born and raised in Russia.

         "My family." The Russian answered, zippering up the duffel bag. "I want to get out of here before Magneto returns."

         "So you're leavin' _me_ and _Gammie_?" 

         "Wouldn't you like to return to Australia? Back home?"

         "I ain't got a home back there." Pyro answered, making a face. "You and Charge-me-up-boy are my only family."

         Piotr was touched. Not by an angel, but by a _pyromaniac_. "You consider me family?"

         "Pi-Pi-Colossus, mate, we've spent two years together. I think by now I can consider ya—ya—" He frowned; he couldn't think of anything funny so he just shrugged. "Yeah. You're like a brother I've _never_ wanted." 

         "Those are kind words, my friend."

         "So you're not leavin'?"

         "I must see my little sister and mother." Piotr stared down at Pyro, long and hard, as if he were trying to figure the pyromaniac out. "This is my only chance."

         "Fine!" St. John threw his hands up in the air. "Leave me with the guy who can blow me up. I see how it is!"

         ***

         "Hmmm.." Remy was laying on his bed, shuffling his cards as he stared up at the ceiling. "I wonder if Ro' is still ticklish." He pondered out loud while he lazily scratched the stubble on his chin. Pyro suddenly barged into his room, which he knew wasn't a safe thing to do. "Why the long face, _homme_?" 

         Pyro touched the side of his own face, trying to settle on whether he had a long face or not. He just shrugged it off, after deciding that he couldn't decide. "Did ye know Colossus is goin' back to Russia?"

         Remy just blinked. "Really? Maybe I should phone back home in the Big Easy. It ain't possible for people to assassinate you over the phone, right?"

         Pyro just shrugged. "Who knows with all the new bloody inventions these days?"

         "If I called, someone would most likely end up hanging up on me anyway." 

         "Oh well! You can just stay here with me!" John declared, giving him a lopsided grin. "What's better than that?" 

         "Just about everythin'." Remy muttered, not choosing his words better. The Australian gave him a hurt look. "Don't look at me like that. I'll blow the look right off your face."

         "Well!" St. John huffed in annoyance. "_Someone_ is cantankerous." He chuckled softly. "I used a big word."

         "What do you want? A cookie?" Remy asked as he stopped shuffling his cards and sat up. St. John watched him carefully as the Cajun pulled on his trench coat and inserted cards into his pockets.

         "And where are you goin'?" In response, he received a pat on the head as Remy walked past him. 

         ***

         Rogue unwrapped the piece of gum and then plopped it into her mouth. She sat in the library of the institute, sitting at a round, thick wooden table reading a hard covered novel. 

         "Uh oh." She suddenly realized, knowing what was about to happen. 

         "Rogue!" Kitty phased through the door and ran happily into the library. "I'm back!"

         "I know." Rogue started, rubbing her temples. She had sensed Kitty's excited thoughts when she had reached the mansion.  "Welcome back, Kit." She forced a small smile at her teammate. 

         "I heard Scott complaining about what happened." Kitty sat herself down next to the Southerner. "So, what happened and don't leave anything out." She waited patiently for Rogue to talk, but she never did. "Fine, I'll just go ask Scott." She waited for Rogue to stop her from doing so and tell her full details about what had happened but, once again, she didn't do so. "C'mon!" Rogue just rolled her eyes. "Hey, where'd you get this?" Kitty pointed to the necklace Rogue was wearing. 

         "Nowhere." Rogue mumbled, placing her hand over the silver cross that hung from her neck. "Mind your own business." 

         Kitty watched with a frown as Rogue hurried out of the library.

         ***

         "I don't trust her, Jean. In the two times we fought them, Gambit and Rogue would disappear." Rogue walked past Scott's room but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard what he was talking about.  

         "You know they have a personal past together. They used to be really good friends."

         "You're only helping me on why I believe we shouldn't trust her. When Wolverine spotted them, they were both just standing there."

         "You don't know what happened, Scott. You can start distrusting her when she actually does something to deserve not to be trusted." 

         It was supposedly hard to hate someone who was sticking up for you, but Rogue still didn't like neither of them. Trying to brush off the conversation she had overheard, Rogue went back on her way down the hall. 

         ***

         "How the hell are you gettin' back to Russia?" A non-happy looking Pyro asked. "Are you goin' to walk there o' somethin'?" 

         "Charles Xavier said he would provide transportation for me." 

         "You're going to trust our _enemy_? He's gonna drop you in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!" 

         "He is a kind man."

         "He's a bald, crippled old guy! Of course he's gonna be kind to ya, mate!" St. John sighed. "When are you comin' back?"

         "I do not know."

         "Liar." He accused, crossing his arms. "Admit it, you just want to get away from the crazed.. well, me."

         "That is wrong." 

         "It's okay. I'll tell our children that the gypsies ran off with you."

         The tall Russian just stared down at him, his face expressionless. He looked like he was in a deep thought, but the thing is; he always looks like he is in deep thought. 

         "I was kidding." St. John said slowly and arched up his brows. "You're supposed to laugh, mate." He paused. "Oy. I forgot, you bloody Russians don't laugh."

         "That is a stereotype remark."

         "Then laugh and prove me wrong." He waited impatiently while he tapped his foot. "Thought so."

         ***

         "I'm back!" Kurt appeared before Rogue in a puff of grey-blue smoke. "Did you miss me, Rogue?" 

         "Terribly." Rogue coughed, waving her hand around. "Can't you walk into the institute, like a normal person?"

         "But we're not normal." Kurt stated, and then out of nowhere he pulled her into a hug. "It's good to be here and to see you and your pessimistic-ness again."

         "Don't do that." She pulled out of the hug. "Y'all know I don't like to be touched."

         "That wasn't touch—" She cut him off by bamf'ing out of the room. He coughed as he inhaled the smoke. "How rude."

         ***

         Kitty picked up the small white piece of paper off from Rogue's floor. "What's this?" She pondered out loud as she read it. "'Rogue, try not to miss me too much. I'll be thinking of you. Love..'." She squinted at the crossed out name. 

         "What are you doin'?" Came a low Southern drawl from the doorway. Kitty looked up, surprised, to see Rogue standing in the doorway. 

         "Nothing!" She murmured, immediately dropping the paper. "What are _you_ doing?" 

         "Get out before I _make_ you get out." It was a threat. "_Now_." A hard covered book that was placed on the desk in the corner, fell from the flat surface. A loud _thud_ echoed out through the room. 

         "Right away ma'am!" Kitty quickly dashed out of the room, knowing she didn't have nine lives. _Someone is a wee bit cranky.._

"An' I heard that!"

         ***

         "Hi." The woman behind the cash register in the small convenience store beamed at Gambit as he entered the miniature store. 

         "_Bonjour_." He winked at her, causing her to blush heavily. "There a payphone anywhere around here, _fille_?"  

         The girl made a face, thinking he had just called her a fillet. "Yeah, outside, on the side. There's, like, a big sign that has a phone on it.. you can't miss it."

         "_Merci_ Renée." He winked at her again, after reading the nametag pinned to her pushed out chest. 

         "Why are you wearing those sunglasses at night?" She asked, pointing to her own eyes. 

         "Because I have demon eyes, petit'."

         She laughed. "Oh really?" 

         He decided she wasn't worth talking to any longer. "_Au __revoir_." 

         "It was nice meeting you.." She trailed off, hoping he would tell her his name but he just left right as she got to 'you.'

         ***

         "St. John."

         "No! I ain't talkin' to ya non-mate sir." 

         "St. John."

         "Don't even try to get me to talk to you!"

         "St. John."

         "Because I won't!"

         "St. John."

         "There's absolutely nothin' you can do to get me to talk to you."

         "St. John."

         "No! I will not talk to you. It's only goin' to make the good bye harder."

         "_St. John_." 

         "What?" 

         "You're sitting upon my jacket."

         "Oh." 

         ***

         "Can't y'all give me any privacy?" Rogue snapped after Kitty walked into the linen closest.

         "I was just, like, getting a clean sheet." The Valley Girl said, biting down on her lower lip. "What's your problem anyway?"

         "Rogue!" Ray called from down the hall, making both girls shudder.

         "I'm goin' out."

         "But it's after curfew!" Kitty grabbed Rogue's arm in attempt to change her mind and to stop her. 

         "I'm nineteen. I don't need a curfew." She pulled away from Kitty and made her way down the hall.

         ***

         _Better to use a payphone. That way if they tried, they'll just track me from the payphone I used. _Remy said to himself as he picked up the receiver, and plopped in the correct amount of change. After hesitating, he dialed the number. His heart seemed to stop when he heard ringing on the other end. He was tempted to hang up, and almost did until someone picked up. 

         "_What_?" The familiar female voice asked, snapping rudely into the phone.

         "_Tante_ Mattie?" Remy asked in disbelief. She never was that rude when answering the phone.

         "_Boy_? Is that you?" 

         "_Oui_. 'Tis _moi_." He heard her sigh heavily. Suddenly, he knew something was wrong. When he asked her what was wrong, he heard her sigh again.

         "It's Jean-Luc." She answered; her voice seemed shaky. "He's been 'napped."

         "_Que_? By who?" 

         "The Rippers." [**1**]

         Remy clutched the receiver as anger flowed through his veins. "I'm comin back, _Tante_." And before she could respond, he hung up the phone.

         ***

         "Y'know, I've been complainin' 'bout you headin' back to Russia all day and you still have yet to get out of here."

         "I leave tomorrow morning."

         "Well, you could've let me known that earlier! I could've started our candle light dinner by now!"

         There were some things that Piotr was going to miss. Pyro, being one and his crazy antics being half of one.

         ***

         "I wish it was Christmas everyday." Rogue mumbled to herself as she wandered out on Xavier's property. "That way everyone is away. I can deal with Scott. He keeps away from me anyway." She sighed lightly and shuddered in her thin jacket. She walked into the woodsy parts of the land property, leaving her footprints in the snow. After ten minutes of walking, she decided she was numb enough and turned back.

         "_Cherie_.." A voice whispered, making her stop dead in her tracks.

         "Remy?" She asked, uncertain as she looked around. "Where are ya?" A red glowing card swayed down from behind her, resting an inch away from her heels. She turned around and tried to dodge the card as it exploded. With the sudden force, she only ended up landing hard on her ass. "What the hell—" Arms from behind scooped her up so she was standing. When she felt an arm go around her neck and pull her close, she struggled.

         "Sweet dreams Ro'." Was the last thing she heard before everything went dark.

         __

         _Part one completed – December 29, 2003_

_         [**1**] – Even though this is an A/U, I am taking some events from Cajun Spice. Why? Because I love that episode. :P I took the name Rippers, which was said in the cartoon, so I'm going to go by the cartoon._

_         Thank y'all who said happy birthday to me. =] It made me type up this chapter faster. Eh, yes, on my birthday I wrote this chapter. _

_         **Ishandahalf** Ooh! Can I have a blue SHINEY star? :) Thank YOU for reviewing my fic. I appreciate it. ^^ I can't wait 'till you update your fic. So tomorrow, eh? I'll be waiting my dear._

_         **Yumiko** Remy did something to the note. ;)_

_         **Rogue77** By now everyone knows what the gift is.. unless they somehow missed it. _

_         **Roguechere** I'm sorry! Did I ruin Pyro for you? :( I was actually thinking of writing a small Pyro series. If I actually do (and if I do, it won't be until after I finish this fic) I'll dedicate it to you. :)_

_         **Gothic Cajun **Thanks for the reviews! I was stunned to check my mail and see so many review thingers._

_         **Rogue4787** I received your review right as I was about to post it. I'm glad you like it. =] And yes, Pyro is a mite (being the understatement of the year..)  insane.. but he's still loveable. :)_

_         **Ithil**, _**_cookies-n-cream08_**, **_Lid'l Rogue_**_, **Ellavira**, **Jukebox**, **cool-chick-rae** (by the way, this is your birthday present :P) [and anyone else I accidentally forgot..] thanks for reviewing. :)_

_         Until next time,_

_         ---- Aro_


	17. Missing Part 2

        ***

        Disclaimer – I *still* don't own X-Men: Evolution__

        __

        Kitty stood outside on the balcony, leaning over the edge. She watched the sun rise and sighed heavily. Her un-brushed hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and she was wearing her pink pajamas. Bags formed under her eyes, from the lack of sleep. 

        "What's wrong?" Kurt suddenly **bamf**'d onto the balcony, right on the railing. He balanced himself by wrapping his tail around the railing. "You look like—"

        "Rogue never came home." Kitty mumbled, cutting him off. "I think she, like, ran away or something."

        "What?" He asked in disbelief. "You have to tell the Professor! What if something bad happened?" 

        Kitty hung her head down low. "I should've stopped her from leaving. This is, like, totally my fault isn't it?" She slowly looked up at him with glossy eyes. 

        "No!" He explained nervously. "You know you can't stop Rogue." He reached over and grabbed her hand. "C'mon let's go tell the Professor!

        "But—"

        **Bamf**.

        ***

        "Maybe we could spend a little time alone tonight." Jean said shyly to Scott. "I mean, well, if you want to."

        He nodded down at her, beaming slightly. "Sure, I don't see why not." He scratched the back of his head. "I mean, friends do deserve to spend alone time together, right?" 

        She nodded, not comprehending his small hint. "Yeah, _friends_ do…" 

        He opened his mouth to say something thoughtful but was cut off by the sound of the doorbell. "Who is it?"

        Jean closed her eyes, and then opened them. "It's Colossus... and—"

        "Jean, Scott, why don't you let our guests in." The Professor asked wheeling past them. "Now, please." 

        "Sure thing, Professor." Scott said through clenched teeth as he walked over to the door, and after slight hesitation (and sighing heavily) he opened the door. 

        "Hello." Piotr greeted staring down at him. Scott's eye twitched as he looked down to see Pyro holding on to Colossus's leg.  

        "What the…" He heard the Professor clear his throat. "Welcome to the institute."

        "Come in Piotr. Ororo is setting the jet up as we speak." He glanced down at the pyromaniac who was attached to the Russian's leg. "Is young St. John coming with?"

        "No. I will shake him off later."

        'Shake him off'? Scott mouthed over to Jean.

        "Professor!" A loud bamf was heard and in the middle of the room stood a frantic Kitty and a worried Nightcrawler. "Rogue is gone!"

        ***

        She felt as if she were floating on a cloud in an ocean of darkness. For once she felt well rested, and her mind was clear. Suddenly, it was as if someone were slowly opening the blinds on the window, causing light to peer through. She never realized she was opening her eyes. 

        "Ugh." She mumbled, blinking repeatedly so that her eyes would adjust to the sudden light. "What the hell?" 

        "Mornin' Ro'." Gambit leaned against the wall, staring at her with glowing red eyes. 

        "Remy?" She sat up immediately to find her arms tied loosely behind her back. "What the— Where am—What's goin' on?" She looked around to see wooden crates surrounded her.

        "We're headin' to Louisiana."

        "Mystique?" She asked, suddenly feeling doubtful. Why would Remy want to go back there?

        "_Non_. Why would you think that?" He didn't think he and Mystique had any resemblance.

        "She was posing as you once." She snapped as she tried to free her hands. "Will you untie me already?" 

        He just grunted. "Like you can't get out of 'em yourself." He paused. "Wait, what do you mean Mystique was posin' as me once? 

        Rogue tried to phase her hands through the rope, but like always, when she wanted to, the stolen powers wouldn't work. That's when it hit her. Reality suddenly came plummeting down and smacked her across the face. "_You_ kidnapped _me_!" The rope that was tied around her wrists fell to the floor. She got to her feet, where the rope that had been tied around her ankles, feel limply to the side. "If you don't tell me what's goin' on right now, I'm gonna—I'm gonna—" He just smirked. "Do somethin' I'm gonna regret!" 

        "Well, before you do somethin' you're goin' to regret, hear me out—"

        She picked up the thick rope that had been laying down by her feet and charged it up. "You have _one_ minute."

        ***

        "That ain't fair!" Pyro yelled when Jean telekinetically removed him from Piotr's leg.  

        "Settle down before I blast you out of here." Scott warned, tapping on his ruby red sunglasses. 

        "That a threat?" Pyro's eyes flashed behind the orange visor as he took out an orange Zippo lighter. 

        "Settle down, _boys_." She reached out her hand and took the lighter away from Pyro.

        "'Ey! That's mine!" He reached for it but she pointed her finger at him and said 'ah, ah, ah' which just made him stop in his tracks, raise a brow and question her sanity. That was something he used to wonder with himself... 

        "Where is Gambit?" 

        "How in the bloody hell should I know?" 

        "You work with him."

        "And I _for_ work Mags yet I ain't gotta clue where that brute is!"

        "I can easily scan your mind, Pyro."

        "Don't be surprised if ye don't find much." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'd love to stand here and prattle on with you, but I have to go say good bye to my darling."

        "Your darling?" The red head arched a brow.

        "Colossus, silly!"

        ***

        "Don't worry Kitty. I'm sure Cerebro will come across our missing rogue." Charles Xavier said, trying to calm down the worried X-_wo_man. Whether he intended the pun or not, it didn't seem to help her at all. 

         "Shouldn't you be trying it now?" She glanced up at the large man standing next to the Professor. "No offense."

        "None taken." Colossus spoke solemnly. He was the only one who didn't look to see who suddenly barged into the room.

        "That blasted red head took Zippy!" The Australian declared, not happy at all. 

        "Zippy?" Kurt dared to question. 

        "His lighter." Colossus answered for him, knowing the pyromaniac had a weird emotional attachment over his lighters and flamethrowers. He also knew Pyro hated matches because he had a hard time lighting the little suckers. 

        "Actually, Piotr. I would like to run a quick scan for Rogue on Cerebro. Would you mind waiting?" 

        "Of course not, Charles." 

        "Wow." Pyro suddenly said. "Do you guys always let your enemies into your home?"

        ***

        "Jean-Luc was _what_? By _who_?" The rope was uncharged and fell to the floor. 

        "'Napped. By the Rippers." His face was now serious; he didn't feel like smirking. 

        Rogue didn't know what to say; she was speechless. She knew about the rivalry between the two families ever since Remy's refusal to marry Belladonna. It had been going on long before, but there was supposedly a peace offering. The peace broke when the wedding was cancelled. The peace wasn't as rock solid as it seemed, the cancellation of the wedding was just an excuse for the two families to break out in war again. It was the un-rated version of Family Feud. 

        "So you 'napped _me_?"

        "Only to prove a point."

        "An' what point is that?"

        "I'll tell you when I figure out what it is."

        She almost cracked a smile. "I can see some people never change." She stared down at the floor. "But some things really do, huh?" 

        He scratched his chin. "It was fun tyin' you up. Like old times, _no_?" 

        "_Mista_ Lebeau!" She growled glancing up at him while scrunching up her forehead. "You're lucky I don't push you outta this box cart!" 

        He smirked, noticing a faint brush appear on her white cheeks. "Again, _just_ like old times." 

        ***

        There was an awkward silence between Colossus, Kitty, Kurt and Pyro who all stood around in the area outside Cerebro. Scott and Jean soon joined them. Soon, everyone was impatiently waiting for the Professor to wheel out and tell them the news. 

        "I think he died in there." Pyro stated after a while. 

        "Not funny." Scott mumbled, feeling offended by the statement. "No one said you have to stay here. So just leave."

        "Leave him alone." Colossus ordered. It seemed like a threat, and he didn't even have to raise his voice. 

        Pyro just mumbled something about fire and then the rest was incoherent. 

        "What's taking him so long?" Kitty asked, her eyes full of concern and worry. "What if he can't contact her? What if she's dead? What if she ran off with Gambit and he killed her?"

        "Gambit ain't no killer." Pyro growled, sticking up for his teammate, who was MIA. 

        "Then where is he?" Scott asked.

        "How should I know? He didn't leave a _note_ on the _fridge_." The pyromaniac answered coldly. 

        Just as Scott was about to say something else, the doors opened and the Professor wheeled out.

        "Professor?" Jean asked softly, as she took a step forward. Everyone just turned and stared at him, waiting for an answer. 

        "Did you find Rogue?" Kitty asked, sounding hopeful.

        "I found one signature, and one identifiable signature." He asked, almost sounding uncertain at his own words.

        "Possibly Rogue and Gambit?" Scott asked, glancing sideways at Pyro.

        "Actually no." Charles answer. "Certainly Magnus."

        Piotr and St. John switched glances.

        ***

        "Never been on a train before." Rogue mumbled to herself. She was sitting against a crate and Remy was sitting on one, besides her. "Why did you want me to come?"

        "Go back to the Big Easy without _you_?" He reached into his pocket and took out a deck of cards. 

        "If we run into the Rippers, you'll most likely run into Bella."

        "If we? They 'napped Jean-Luc. They have to know that would get me to come back."

        "Maybe they didn't. Things between you and him got pretty tense. I reckon they'll expectin' Henri to get 'im."

        "Then I guess we'll surprise 'em." She noticed he started to look a little uncomfortable, possibly with the situation, but she didn't care. 

        "This ain't goin' to change things between us."

        "_Us_, Ro'? Is that _all_ you can think about?" He asked, smirking slightly as he began to shuffle the cards, knowing it would greatly annoy her. 

        Which it did. "What's it with you an' cards?" She asked, slightly making a face as she looked up at him. 

        "Well." He momentarily stopped shuffling. "It's like havin' fifty-two explosives close to your heart." Her face fell, and her brows arched up. "Plus, it takes my mind off things." 

        Rogue just sighed. "How much longer until we get to Lousisina? 

        "_Chérie_, we're not even out of Pennsylvania yet."

        "Leave me alone."

        ***

        "Look at me, I'm in the infamous X-Jet." Pyro declared proudly, with a hint of sarcasm as he buckled himself into the seat.

        "That can be rearranged." Cyclops said from his seat, in the front. "I take it after we find Magneto, we'll be fighting again in no time."

        "I hope so." The pyromaniac mumbled to the homesick Russian. "I'll make his codename become _literal_." 

        "What are you going to do? Poke his eye out with your lighter?" Shadowcat asked, shifting in her seat so she could look over at Pyro. 

        "No! That blasted non-codename girl still has it!" 

        "I could give you a flame." A soft voice spoke up. Pyro's head jerked over and peered over at the isle opposite from them. A dark haired, tanned girl in a recruit's uniform leaned forward. She pointed out her index finger towards him, and out came a small flame.

        Pyro was drooling by now. "By golly, I think I'm in love." He mumbled, deeply mesmerized by the _flame_. 

        "Pyro, meet Magma." Shadowcat introduced with a wide grin on her face. "She can produce waves of heat, err fire. So, anything she can do, you can't. And anything she can't do, you can."

        He reached his hand over, slowly taking over the small flame that danced at her fingertip but after a few seconds she pulled away, and flipped her long dark hair behind her should. "Mine." 

        "'Ey! Share the wealth!"

        ***

        "Opps."

        Remy gaped at Rogue in horror. "You threw _mon_ card out..!"

        "It was an accident?"

        "_Dieu_! You grabbed the cards off me and chucked him out the door! That was no accident!"

        "Like you don't have another pack in your trench coat."

        "That's besides the point!"

        Rogue sighed heavily knowing that one of them wouldn't make it to the Big Easy alive. One of them, being Remy, she noted with a smirk.

        ***

        "We're here." Storm announced, landing the jet. "According to the Professor, Magneto's signal came from here, an abandoned area outside Bayville." 

        They all got off the jet. Cyclops kept an eye on Pyro, clearly not trusting him. 

        "Is he just going to pop out at us or something?" Magma asked, looking around nervously.

        "Nah, Mags ain't like an annoying jack in the box." Pyro said, trying to comfort her. "Much."

        "Shouldn't we split up?" Shadowcat asked, uncertain of what to do now. 

        Pyro just laughed and walked away from the huddled group. "Here Mags-y, Mags-y, Mags-y." He walked around the abandoned parking lost, and wandered around the old building. It was only minutes later when they heard him yell. 

        "What's wrong?" Storm asked, being the first one to get to him. "Did you—Oh my." She stopped dead in her tracks at the dark prone body of Magneto laying on the ground. His helmet laid several feet away from his head. "Is he—?"

        Pyro walked over to the body and kneeled down at it just as the others arrived, gasping at the sight. Jean walked up behind him, attempting to scan Magneto's mind but she just sighed.

        "He's dead."

        __

        _Part two completed – December 31, 2003_

_        Eep! I feel so loved.. and dazed.. and not to mention tired. I'll answer reviews in the next chapter.. ;)_

_        Thank y'all for reviewing! Gosh, I LOVE ALL OF  YOU!_

_        -- Aro 3_


	18. Missing Part 3

        ***

          Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

          __

          _"We succeeded."_

_          "We?" The man asked, laughing. "I did it. I told you it would work and it did. You all doubted me, but_

_I did it. I found a way to terminate mutants!"_

          __

          Ever got a puppy and it wouldn't shut up at night? All it would do was bark? And perhaps, bark some more? They, don't ask me who 'they' is, say that if you put a ticking clock down next to the frisky little pup, it will calm him down because it reminds him of his mother's heartbreak. Actually, I don't even know if that's true, I just saw it done on a cartoon before, but oh well. Lets just say, it wasn't a heartbeat Rogue was hearing, and that her pillow, wasn't a pillow. She dug her head deeper into her pillow, which actually wasn't a pillow, as she felt someone tap on her shoulder.

          "Not now." She mumbled, still half asleep. Her eyes immediately popped open when her pillow moved. She tensed up, only to realize her pillow was breathing. 

          "Mornin' _chérie_." Red on black eyes stared down at her and the reckless Cajun has a sheepish smirk planted on his lips. "Sleep well?" 

          "Swamp rat!" She gasped, trying to sit up, but he had one arm encircled tightly around her waist. When had she fallen asleep? No, when had she fallen asleep _on_ him? "I knew I couldn't trust you."

          "You drooled on my shirt." He stated and momentarily ignored her last statement. "All I did was sit down next to you last night and this mornin' here you are, practically laying on top of me." He winked at her. "So, what were you dreamin' 'bout?"

          Her head lowered in towards his, as she softly spoke, "Not about you." She licked her lips. "Now, let me go before I remove your arm for you." 

          He did as threatened to, but slowly. He trailed his fingers _slowly_ across her clothed side, causing her to blush slightly and bit down on her lower lip. "Still ticklish?" 

          Suddenly, she was half across the small rectangular room. "You're never goin' to find out." 

          "We'll see about that, Ro'."

          She stuck her tongue out at him. "You won't see about anythin'. I'm the one with multiple powers, _Sugah_." 

          "Don't stick the tongue out if you don't plan on usin' it, _petit'_." 

          _I think it would've been easier to fly there. _She said, telepathically to him, ignoring his last statement. 

          _I thought about that, but I don't think I could've gotten away with bringin' an unconscious fille on a plane. _He said, smirking a bit. 

          _I can fly._

          He cocked a brow. _Pardon __moi__? _

          _I can with Jean's telekinesis. _She said with a shrug. _Never really tried though. Gives me a headache to move anythin' heavier than.. _She rolled her eyes. _A quarter. _"Do you think you're goin' to stay in Lousisina?"

          "That's like keeping a bleedin' man inside a tank full of hungry sharks, Rogue." He mumbled dryly. "Why the hell did I even bring you with me?" 

          "Because you're an idiot, Lebeau." 

          "An' this idiot ain't afraid to throw you out of this 'cart." 

          She cracked a smile at that. "You would never.." Before she knew it, Remy was charging at it. "Ah!" She squealed, laughing as she dodged out of the way and walked right into one of the large wooden crates. When she regained her balance, Remy smacked into her and they both ended up on the ground. "_You_ broke me!" Rogue groaned. 

          He patted her head. "_Non_. Just chipped you." 

          ***

          "There are no puncture wounds, I don't understand this." Hank McCoy was puzzled. 

          "Could it have been a heart attack?" Jean asked, making a face at the covered comatose. She hated dead people. On the way back, the only thing Pyro had said was, "I see dead people" and he was quiet since. 

          "I don't know." Hank answered truthfully. "He's going to need an autopsy." 

          "How's the Professor taking it?" Jean asked softly, knowing Magnus and Charles were once good friends. 

          "Quite well—I assume. St. John has barely uttered a word since you all arrived here. I barely know the guy, but from what I know, that's unusual." 

          "I'm just glad he hasn't burned anything down." Scott mumbled, entering the medical wing. "I told Colossus that we'll take him back tomorrow. He understands." 

          "Now that Magneto is gone, the Acolytes are free to go. He should be happy with that." Jean said with a smile but Scott shook his head.

          "Mystique." He reminded with a frown. 

          ***

          "I'm headin' back to the base, mate. You comin' along?" A tired Pyro asked his teammate. 

          Colossus was surprised by St. John's sudden attitude. He didn't seem hyper, or talkative at all. He seemed like he overdosed on his Ritalin. "Yes, St. John." 

          "So, are ya glad the brute is dead?"

          "Magneto?"

          "No, _Spider-man_." Pyro suddenly scratched his chin. "I wonder if that bloke was a mutant too." 

          "He's a fictional comic book character." 

          "That's what they want ya to think." St. John mumbled. "For all we know, there's a comic book out there about _us_."

          "Do not be ridiculous." 

          "Spider-man has his own TV show, don't _we_ deserve one?" The young pyromaniac asked, raising his voice. 

          "Why are you taking your anger out on Spider-man?" 

          "I'm not!" He growled; feeling offended by that. "So, I guess you're goin' to be headin' back to Russia and stayin' there for good now, huh?" 

          "Now that Mag—"

          "Doesn't it bother you at all that the stupid brute is dead? Don't you wonder _how_ he died, mate? If something killed 'im, _it_ has to be _powerful_." 

          ***

          "I'm goin' to get in trouble because of this." Rogue mumbled to the Cajun who sat across from her. They both kept eye on each other, aware that any one of them could try anything at any given time. 

          "That comin' from a girl who used to skip class and made herself welcome in the boy's lavatory." Remy smirked at the old memories. 

          "Things are different now. Back then I could actually _touch_."

          He nodded slowly. "Could've taken that for advantage."         

          "Shut up." She mumbled, yawning. 

          "Don't yawn if makes—" He yawned loudly, making her smile. 

          "You could at least cover your mouth." They said in unison, and then they both rolled their eyes at the same time. 

          "Y'know Lebeau, I don't know why you really wanted me to come along—" Rogue stared at him, as if she could see right through him. "But if you're keepin' somethin' from me.."

          "You're goin' to kill me?"

          "Precisely." 

          "Can't wait, _chérie_." He said, with a wink. If there was one thing he loved, it was seeing her face when he made 'inappropriate comments/remarks' and/or winked at her. He was amused at how disgusted she was at him. "So, I guess you still hate Remy, yes?" 

          She shifted, starting to feel even more uncomfortable. "I don't hate you." She mumbled, but it didn't sound too convincing, to either of them. 

          "Well good. Maybe now I won't lose sleep over it." He mumbled sarcastically, only to receive a look from her. "_Qui_? You _always_ goin' to hold a grudge 'gainst me?" 

          "Remy." She sighed, running a hand through her white fringes. "Don't start. I ain't in the mood, all right?" Without realizing it, she twirled strands of white hair between two fingers. 

          "You're the one who always started it, Rogue." Remy stated, he was obviously sick of her attitude. "I swear, if you remind me that things are never goin' to change one mo' time.."

          "What are you gonna do?" She asked, amused. "Blow me up? Give me a paper cut with a card?"

          "Is it too late to throw your ass out of here?"

          "I should get out of here! Teleport to the nearest town and get your ass in trouble for kidnappin' me!" She suddenly frowned and rubbed her temples. "But it won't rest my conscience if we don't rescue Jean-Luc. You need me."

          "_Non_. I don't."

          "Shut up. Yes you do."

          "Don't."

          "Do."

          "Don't."

          "Don't argue with me!"

          "You're agruin' with me!"

          "Am not!"

          "Am too!" Why was she being so difficult? He chuckled softly. "We fight like an old married couple."

          "We do—" In her mind; she replayed the last couple of words they exchanged. He had a point. "Shut up." He slowly reached over. "And if you pat my head one more time I'm goin' to bite your hand off." 

          "What makes you think I'm goin' to pat that pretty li'l head of yours?" He asked; amusement glowed in his eyes. "Maybe I was goin' to flick that spider off your shoulder."

          Rogue's eyes went wide. "Get it off! Get it off now, Swamp rat!"

          He smirked. "Now you want me to help you? It's okay for you to hate—"

          Rogue reached over and grabbed the collar of his trench coat. "I do _not_ hate you! All right? _Rogue_ no hate _Remy_!"

          "Then you have a funny way of showin' _love_."

          "I don't love ya either!" With a frustrated sigh, she let go of him and stood up. "Goddammit all Rem-Rem, I—" She was cut off when the train came to a halt.

          He grabbed her hand. "Put that sentence on pause, _petit'_, we have to run." 

          ***

          "So, what's the plan?" Rogue asked, pulling her hand out of his when they were a few blocks away from the train station. 

          "I was thinkin' we could.. wing it."

          Her face fell. "If I die I'm goin' to haunt you for the rest of your damned life."

          He reached to pat her head, but decided against it. He also thought about the perfect remark for that, but he decided against that too; he didn't want to piss her off anymore. Not now, at least. "Hungry? I know a little jazz club around here that has the best jambalaya..." 

          ***

          "I plead the fifth." St. John said when he was asked if Magneto had any projects he was working on. Scott was the one doing the threatening, so Pyro didn't care much. _If only I had Zippy.._ He said to himself with a depressed sigh. He was suffering separation anxiety. 

          "Strange." Jean "Grey" said. She was standing next to Scott with her fingertips by her temples. "I can't scan your mind. You must have a mental block up." 

          "Gee, you must be a mind reader o' somethin'!" Pyro explained with mocked excitement. He scratched his chin. "'Ey! I used a _pun_!"

          "Once he enters the pun phase, there is no way of getting him back." Piotr spoke up. He was standing by the doorway with his arms folded over his chest. 

          "Not mentally, at least." Kitty noted, with a nod. She stood next to Piotr. "It is, like, totally disgusting that there's a dead guy just down the hall." 

          "Hopefully he won't turn into a zombie." Pyro said with a wink.

          "Ew!" Kitty made a face, still disgusted. "I am _so_ locking my door tonight." Suddenly, her eyes went wide. "Ohmigosh, we totally forgot about Rogue!"

          "No, Kitty, we haven't." The Professor wheeled into the room, all eyes on him. "I lost her signature, but just over an hour ago I tracked her using a power in Louisiana." 

          "Gambit." Scott said dryly, and looked over at Pyro.

          "What are ya lookin' at me for, mate? I ain't got the boy on a leash."

          ***

          "We still wingin' it?" Rogue asked as they sat down at a table that had a clear view of the door. 

          "What do you think?" Remy asked, eyeing a waitress as she walked past him. "Julian is bound to find us, well me, here."

          Rogue shut her eyes, and looked relaxed almost. 

          "What the hell are you doin'?"

          "Tryin' to see if I can sense 'im."

          "Jean-Luc?"

          "_Julian_, idiot." 

          "And..? Do you sense him?"

          "I don't know, I'm arguin' with you." She sounded so aggravated that he couldn't help but to smirk. "You better wipe that smirk off your face before I do it personally."

          "Aw, you're sayin' that out of love."

          "Shut up before I gag you."

          "Promise?" 

          She opened her eyes. "Screw it! You're right; you don't need my help." 

          He _tried_ not to smirk. "_Someone_ is cranky."

          "Well." A new voice joined in. "If it isn't the infamous Remy LeBeau." 

          "Watch it!" Rogue snapped when someone grabbed her from behind. Almost automatically, her and Remy flipped the thugs holding them from behind over their shoulder. "Looks like this day is goin' to get interestin'."

          "_Bonjour _Julian." Remy smirked, meeting eyes with his rival.

          "What the—" The other male mumbled when seeing the red on black eyes. Remy took out his Bo staff and extended it.

          "We can do this the easy way, o' the hard way." The Cajun said, griping the long staff. "Tell me where Jean-Luc is."

          "That's for me to know and for you to find out."

          "O' it's for Rogue to know and for you to get knocked out!" Was the last thing Julian remembered hearing.

          ***

          Remy coughed, waving his hand around. "That stuff smells, Ro'." He said to her, making a face. 

          "It was either walk here o' teleport here so shut it." She snapped, elbowing him in the gut. "An' I ain't goin' any farther until you tell me you need me."

          "_Non_."  He wrapped an arm around her covered waist. "Now, c'mon _chérie_." 

          She phased out of his grip. "Not until you say it." 

          "C'mon, this is stupid Ro'. The quicker we do this, the faster you can get away from me. You want that, don't you?"

          "Lets go." She mumbled, kicking the muddy ground like a child who didn't get their way. "But you're goin' to say it before the night is over." 

          "You keep thinkin' that." They walked around the swamp-surrounded area very cautiously. Well, Remy did at least. Before he knew it, Rogue ordered for him to get down and she tackled him to the ground. 

          "Security camera!" She hissed, blowing white strands out of her face but they fell back limply. "Julian has to know we're comin'. He ain't that stupid."

          "Wouldn't be too sure of that, Ro'." Remy mumbled, sitting up. "You sure Jean-Luc is in there?" He nodded his head over to the house. 

          "I saw it in his memories. I'll go 'round back, you take the front." She said, slowly getting to her feet.

          "_Qui_?" 

          "Don't ask questions, just do it."

          _At this rate, she could be a spokesperson for Nike._ Remy said to himself as they went their different ways.

          _An' I heard that, Sugah._

          ***

          His eyes glowed in the dimness of the hallway as he entered the house. As he walked past the empty kitchen, he noticed an empty beer can on the table and grabbed it. 

          "Hmmm.." 

          ***

          Two men stood outside a room, guarding it. Well, supposedly. The two men just stood there, talking about something. They were caught off guard ("Pun!" As Pyro would proclaim.) when a glowing can rolled down. 

          "Huh?" A man stopped it by setting his foot over it. Suddenly, it blew up, sending both men flying into the wall. Remy walked past the two unconscious men, mumbling something about what beer does to the mind. He opened the door and held his breath. 

          "What do you want?" The man inside the room asked, snapping sharply. His eyes went wide when he saw who was standing in the doorway. "Remy, what are you doin' here?"

          "I've been askin' myself that very question." It was a good question. Why was he doing there, rescuing _him_?

          "I can't believe it."

          "That makes two of us." 

          "Your eyes.." The older male stared at him in astonishment. "What happened to your eyes?"

          "Nothin'. My latent powers manifested." _I sound like that blue fuzzy man at the institute. _Remy realized. 

          "Powers?" Jean-Luc asked, still astonished. "_Mon dieu_, Remy. You're.."

          "A mutant, Jean-Luc, I'm a mutant. Right after I untie you, I'll get out of your way." Using his power, he zapped through the ropes. 

          "You came back."

          "I have a damned conscience. Don't see too far into this." He gestured over to the door. "Lets get out of here an' you can go back pretendin' I never existed." 

          "But you came back. For me?"

          "_Non_, I traveled here from New York just to get some jambalaya." He mumbled sarcastically as he grabbed his arm, "Now lets go." He practically dragged him out of the room and down the hall. He didn't stop until two figured stepped out in front of them.

          "Well, well, well. If it isn't father-son day." There stood Julian and his father. 

          ***

          "You're better off gettin' out of here Rogue." Rogue said to herself as she walked around, to the back of the house. Memories about Irene telling her about the two families flooded her mind. When she got to the back, she noticed the dock and thought nothing of it. "Hmm, the door is locked." She realized as she turned the knob. "Oh well, guess I better go home." She whispered. "Or just walk through the door." Which was what she did. _Maybe bein' a mutant ain't half bad._

          ***

          "C'mon Julian, lets—" The two men suddenly fell to the ground. Behind them stood Rogue, with two bare hands.

          "Lets go." She ordered and took off, not caring if they were behind her or not. 

          "She can do all that with the touch of a finger?" Jean-Luc asked, clearly impressed. "Never realized havin' a mutant on apart of the team could be handy."

          "Forget it." Remy snapped, hurrying down the hall to catch up with her. "Neither me o' Rogue is apart of your team—" He clenched his teeth. "O' family."

          Jean-Luc raised a brow. "You mean you two are—"

          "They're comin'! C'mon, this way!" Rogue grabbed a hold of Remy's arm and dashed off. Remy barely had time to grab Jean-Luc's arm. 

          "How does she know?" Jean-Luc asked, feeling as if he were in a violent game of Whip. 

          "Believe me, she knows."

          "Will you two shut—" She was cut off when she ran into a man carrying a bazooka like gun. "Oh damn."

          "Rogue, do us all a favor and teleport our asses out of here!"

          "Oh yeah!"

          **Bamf**!

          __

          _Part three completed – January 2, 2003_

          This is a HORRIBLE chapter. I know, I know. Do not complain about it 'cause I spent three days on it. THREE DAYS. The next part (which is currently untitled) will be about the aftermath of rescuing Jean-Luc, the results to Magneto's autopsy and more, well, just more Pyro. Perhaps a little Romy.. or not. It's a secret! Bwahaha! Which is what I should call the next segment, which will NOT be out until next week.

          I know I said I'd answer reviews.. but I'm tired. :( Sorry y'all.. BUT I STILL LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!

          Even if you do flame me.

          -- Aro /3

            
  



	19. Aftermath Part 1

           ***

           Disclaimer – I *still* don't own X-Men: Evolution

· _Chapter takes place a few days after the last_

· _Thank you Lisa for the name of the segment. :P_

__

           __

           Ever have a staring contest with the wall? You have? Then you know it's just about impossible to win. It's almost as possible to win as it is to lick your elbow. After staring at the wall, for about an hour and a half, Remy Lebeau sighed heavily. His copper-colored fringes fell in front of his eyes as his head fell forward. He made a mental note to get a hair cut later. For what seemed like the millionth time that day, he slipped a deck of cards out from his pocket on his trench coat and flipped them from one hand to another. That got old fast. Within a minute he slipped them back in. He leaned back in the chair and now stared up at the ceiling. What an adventurous life he lived. He propped his feet up on the table, crossing one foot over the other. 

           "Get your feet off the table." He didn't need to look at the person to know who it was. The soft Southern accent easily identified the person. He glanced up at Rogue who was standing a few feet away from his table, with her arms crossed. She was wearing black pants, ripped at the knees, with a long sleeved green mesh shirt over a black t-shirt. She wore black gloves with velcro across the wrists. When he didn't move his feet, she moved them for him. A sound echoed out through the library when his boots hit the ground.

           "Nice to see you too, _chérie_." He smirked at her as she pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. "Didn't even know this place had a library."

           "Didn't know you could read." She shot back, opening a book. He watched her carefully as her eyes moved side to side. After several minutes of silence, she glanced up at him. Her eyes met his red orbs. "Want somethin'?"

           He smirked as he shook his head, amused. "Nothin' Ro', nothin'." He knew she wasn't exactly thrilled with him staying here. He wasn't staying at the institute, just visiting. St. John on the other hand, was living in a luxury here, and Colossus decided he would go after they found out what made Magneto croak. 

           "Jean-Luc offered to forgive an' forget. Why didn't you go back?" Rogue suddenly asked, her voice no higher than a whisper. 

           "Because." Remy leaned in towards her. "He wanted me for my mutant powers." He tapped the side of his head. "I thought you'd be able to figure that one out on your own, Ro'." 

           "Hey Rogue." Both Southerners jerked their head to the right to see Ray standing at the end of the table, holding his infamous laptop. 

           "Hi Ray." Rogue said, smiling as she eyed the laptop in his arms. Remy arched his brows up, watching the two in amusement. 

           "Here—" He walked over and handed her the laptop. "Kitty just told me you wanted to use it. Can you try to give me it back after dinner?"

           "Sure thing." Her accent thickened, making what she said sound like 'suh' thang.' "Thank ya, Ray."

           "No problem, Rogue." And with those words, he glanced past Remy, and left the room. 

           "I see you two are on first name basis." 

           "Shut up, _Pepe Lepew_." 

           ***

           Colossus looked around for Pyro, who had proclaimed he wasn't leaving the mansion until his dear friend left. 

           "Hey Colossus." Kitty showed up, walking besides him, carrying a plate of cookies. "I can't find Kurt, who's my usual taste-tester, so would you _please_ try a cookie for me?" She stuck out her lower lip.

           Being the overly sensitive, quiet, misunderstood and nice guy that he is, he reached for a cookie and tried it. His face remained the same as he chewed it and swallowed it.

           "Well?" Kitty looked up at him with big hopeful eyes thinking that maybe she actually didn't food poison people this time. 

           A small smile found its way on his face. "It is the best I have ever had, Shadowcat."

           She squealed. "Thank you! At least someone around here appreciates my baking!" She smiled. "And you can call me, Kitty." 

           "And you can call me Piotr, Kitty." His face went back to being expressionless. "Do you know where I could find St. John?"

           "Second floor, forth door to your right. I just saw him go in there, like, twenty minutes ago."

           "I thank you, Kitty." 

           "No problem!" She watched as he walked away and walked up the stairs. _I think he's the first person to ever try my cooking and walk away with perfect health._

           ***

           "St. John?" Colossus walked right into the room to see Pyro sitting in a bathtub, surrounded by bubbles. "Oh my—I am so sorry."

           "Look at my rubber ducky!" St. John proclaimed gleefully as he held up the yellow squeaky rubber ducky. He frowned when Piotr turned around, ready to exit the room. "'Ey! Get back 'ere P-P-Col!"

           "I would rather not." The Russian declared without turning around. 

           "Don't be such a virginal homophobic and get in 'ere. It ain't like I'm going to ask ya to scrub my back and shoulders.. 'Ey! That ain't a bad idea!" 

           But Colossus was already long gone.

           ***

           "I swear if your foot touches mine one more time I'm going to—"

           "You're goin' to what, chérie? Kick me?" He asked, with a wink. "O' get Electricity-Boy after me?"

           She glanced up from the laptop. "_What_?" 

           "I know you can tell he likes you." Remy said, looking down at his game of Solitaire. "Do you like him?"

           "If you know he likes me then shouldn't you know if I know he likes me and if I know I know he likes me and if he knows I know I.." She stopped. "Shut up." 

           He sniffed the air. "Do I smell smoke?"

           A book suddenly flew off the table and hit his shoulder. It knocked him back with force, almost making him fall out of his chair. "_Merde_! Hey!" 

           "Sorry. I was aimin' for your face." 

           "Stupid telekinesis." He mumbled, rubbing his shoulder. He picked up a card, and charged it. He then glanced over at Rogue, to see her reaction. 

           "You _wouldn't_ dare." 

           "_Wouldn't_ I?"

           ***

           The small explosion could be heard out through the mansion. The younger recruits, who all sat around in the rec room, watching television, just rolled their eyes; the older mutants would resolve whatever caused the explosion. 

           "Should we go see what that was?" Amara asked as she reached over and took a handful of popcorn out from the bowl that was sitting on the table. 

           "Nah." Rahne said, watching Roberto and Ray have a contest on seeing who could fill their cheeks the most with popcorn. 

           "When we hear screams, we'll come running in to save them all." Jubilee mumbled, trailing off during the middle of her sentence as Bobby converted his ice into sculptures. 

           "They're goin' to think y'all are lazy." Sam said from his spot on the floor, next to the couch. He was playing Jamie in a game of checkers. 

           "Y'all?" Jamie asked, jumping two of his pieces. "We don't see you up there, Sam."

           "We're like their backup team. They don't need us." Amara flipped her hair behind her shoulder and sighed. "Pyro or Gambit probably made the explosion."

           "Pyro." Jubilee turned around, her mind not on Bobby anymore. "He was following you like a lovesick puppy begging for a flame."

           "That's why I got him this." Amara reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a metal lighter. She flicked it with her wrist and the cap went up, and then down, making a soft clicking noise. 

           "Aww!" Half the room cooed, "How _sweet_."

           "Shut up before I make a bunch of recruit marshmallows.." 

           ***

           "What's going on in here?" A frantic Ororo asked, barging into the library. Remy was standing up, looking deadpanned, and a _hysterical_ Rogue sat on the floor, on the opposite side, surrounded by parts of a laptop. By hysterical, I mean she was laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath. Soon, Scott and Jean came in behind Storm. 

           "What happened?"

           What had happened? Remy had accidentally dropped the card, and right before it blew up, Rogue used Jean's power to put a force field around herself, forgetting about the borrowed laptop. The force field blocked her from the attacked but knocked her back just as the pieces of the laptop went everywhere. Remy, was speechless, while on the other hand, Rogue couldn't stop laughing. 

           "I think she hit her head." Remy managed to mumble a few minutes later.

           ***

           Hours later, right before dinner, Rogue placed all the pieces to the once existing laptop on Ray's bed. She was kind of hoping he wouldn't notice. Of course he was going to notice, and she thought about using telepathy to make him think he blew it up somehow, but she knew the Professor would somehow find out and she'd get an earful. 

           "Hey Miss Vampire!" Pyro frolicked down the hallway and stopped when he saw her phasing out of the doorway of a room. 

           "Miss Vampire?" She asked dryly. 

           "Y'know, you suck the power out of people! You're a power absorbin' vampire!"

  
  


           She poked his shoulder. "I also absorb your memories when I touch ya." She poked his shoulder again, this time hard. "And unless you—"

           "You should absorb me! Then we could be a team and control fires together!"

           "Why would I want _you_ inside my head?" 

           "Because of my devilishly good looks and my charm?" He soon trailed off. "My bad, Sheila! I forgot, you want REMY inside that head of yours!" Before she had a chance to respond, or club him outside the head, he grabbed a lock of white hair. "So, is this natural?" 

           "Yes, it is." She snapped, pulling away. "Don't touch my hair—don't talk to me, and don't touch me."

           "But after everything we've been through!" His eyes got watery. "You can do this to me.. Uh.." He snapped his fingers as he tried to remember her name. "Rouge!"

           "That's Rogue."

           "That was gonna be my second guess."

           "I bet." And with those words, she shoved past him and walked down the hall. 

           He chuckled softly to himself. _That Gammie has a weird taste in girls._

           ***

           "I can't believe your letting them stay here, Professor!"

           "Scott, they have no intention of staying. Gambit and Pyro will surely leave when Colossus goes home."

           "Professor—"

           "Scott. It's dinnertime."

           Scott's jaw dropped as the Professor wheeled out of the office. 

           ***

           Remy sat outside the institute, smoking a cigarette. In a few minutes, he was going to head back to the base. He only stayed at the institute for two reasons: one – to look after Pyro and two – to spend a little time with Rogue. He felt weird ever since the incident in the library. It just reminded him of the time his powers first manifested. What if Rogue didn't have all those stolen powers? What if she hadn't blocked the explosion from the card? She might've ended up like the laptop. Of course she found the whole situation to be hilarious. 

           "No smokin'." The cigarette was pulled out from his lips and tossed out onto the sidewalk. "You're goin' to get some sort of cancer if you keep smokin'."

           "Since when do you care?" He asked, reaching into his pocket for another one but found the pack of them to be missing. "You goddamn thief."

           "I ain't the one in a guild." 

           "Then give me back—"

           "Your fags?" She asked with amusement as she sat up, placed the pack of cigarettes beneath her and sat down on them. 

           "I hate you." He mumbled bitterly. "Anyway—" He stood up. "I'm thinkin' 'bout taking 'Luc on that offer."

           Rogue deadpanned. "What?"

           "Maybe I should make peace with my family. Without 'napping you, don't worry _chérie_." 

           "W-When are you gonna head back?"

           "Sometime after Pyro heads back to the base, o' where ever the _homme_ is goin'."

           She made a face. "I hope it's soon. That guy is gettin' on my last nerve."

           Remy shrugged. "He's a good guy. Probably hasn't taken his meds in a few.." He paused. "Months." 

           "That explains a lot." She mumbled, with an eye roll. "Your family will be happy to see you."

           He shrugged again. "I might not go back."

           "You need to make up your mind."

           He reached behind her and patted her head. "_Oui_, I do _petit'_."  He slipped his arm around her shoulders, waiting for her to smack him, or violently do something of the sort but she didn't. She just relaxed and rested her head on his shoulder. 

           __

           _Part one completed – January 4, 2004_

_           Seems like a good part to end it. It was originally going to be a cliffhanger but I'll just save that for the next chapter.. :)_

_           Sorry, not up for answering reviews.. :( Maybe next time.. _

_           -- Aro_                                                                                                               


	20. Aftermath Part 2

           ***

           Disclaimer – I *still* don't own X-Men: Evolution

           __

           Rogue walked down the hall, feeling a bit light headed. Remy had just left, dragging a babbling Pyromaniac behind him. She was sitting on the outside stairs with Remy for about a half hour, and in those thirty minutes they didn't exchange one word; she just sat there with her head resting on his shoulder and with his arm around her. It was like a Kodak moment. 

           "Hey." She came to a halt when she heard Ray from behind her. Her heart started to pound harder, thinking he might electrocute her for killing his precious laptop. "Thanks for returning my laptop."

           She forced herself not to laugh. She knew if he wanted to know what happened to his darling laptop, she would burst out in uncontrollable laughter. Again. "Anytime, Ray." 

           "Aren't you at least going to tell me why it's in pieces?"

"If I said it happened during a freak accident involving two squirrels and Wolverine would you believe me?"

"I'm thinking it happened during a freak accident involving you, a rogue and cards."

"A rogue?" She asked, making a face. Then she realized the pun. No wonder Pyro loved this place. "Oh. It was an _accident_, Ray. I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" He asked, crossing his arms. He didn't look happy. He was still mourning his laptop. "It's the Prof's fault for letting those dill weeds in here."

"Dill weeds?"

"You know what I mean." He still didn't look too happy. "I can't stand them. Especially Card-boy. I want to—"

"Fry him with your _ray_ gun?" She suggested sarcastically. This conversation would've made a certain Australian very happy. "It was an accident, Ray. I swear. I was there—"

"I'm not going to fight about this Rogue. As far as I'm concern Gambit totally trashed my computer. And I doubt he charged up a card and it accidentally slipped through his grasp." 

"It did."

"Bull. Why would he have charged up a card in the first place? Did he try to hurt you?"

"Remy would never hurt me." 

"Yeah, just put you in a coma." 

"Gawd Ray, you're a jackass." She spat venomously at him as she turned on her heel and left him standing there. 

***  
  
           

_Click._

_Click._

_Click._

_Click._

_Click._

           "C'mon homme! Do you have to keep doin' that?" Gambit asked, trying not to raise his voice, knowing it would show his annoyance. "It's a lighter. N-not a cl-click th-thinger, _Comprenez_?" 

           Pyro made a face at his teammate's stuttering. Usually people only stuttered if they had either a speech problem, or if they were nervous or extremely angry. So, which was it? Pyro didn't know. "What's your problem—" _Click. _"—_Mate_?" 

           "Nothin'."

           "Aw, don't lie to _Pyro_!"

           "Don't refer to yourself in third person." The Cajun mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. 

           "_Why_?" 

           "Because it's annoyin'."

           "_Why_?"

           "Be—" He glared at the younger male. "_Be_cause you're gettin' on my last nerve!" _"That guy is gettin' on my last nerve."_ Well, What a convenient time to think about _Rogue_. 

"Well then you better get s'more nerves 'cause I ain't goin' _anywhere_." 

"You don't have to go anywhere, _I will_." And with those words, the cranky Southerner stormed out of the room, down the hall, out the door and into the freezing rain. 

"Well!" Pyro stared, scrunching up his forehead. "It's _someone's_ time of the month!"

***  
  
"Do you have any threes?" Jubilee asked, arching both brows up suspiciously.

Piotr sat across from her, Amara and Kitty sat by her left and right. 

"Go fish." The Russian declared, without looking up from his cards. He paused, and glanced up at Kitty. "Do you have any queens?"

Her eyes skimmed across the cards clutched in her hands. Her eye twitched. "Yes." After hesitating, for about half a second, she handed him the queen. 

"Thank you, Kitty." Piotr was winning. He already had four pairs of cards, while the three girls only had one pair, or didn't even have a pair yet. He glanced up at Amara. "Do you have any twos?"

Amara now eyed him suspiciously as she glanced through her own cards. A few seconds later, she sighed, which meant she did. "I swear you're a telepath."

"Or he has x-ray vision.." Jubilee quipped up; making all the girls exchanged glances and then looked over and up at Piotr, who just blinked. "Or not." Jubilee looked over at Amara. "Give him his card, girl." 

"But it's my card." She stated, making a face. "I hate this game. Why should you give up a card just because someone else has it? I mean, you have it to—"

"Shut up, and, like, give him the card." Kitty cut her off, as she impatiently looked down at her wristwatch. 

"No! I refuse!" Amara threw down the cards, stood up, and stormed out of the room. 

"So." Jubilee said, ignoring Amara's small tantrum. The Asian was used to it. "Colossus, you have any Kings?"

***  
  
           "Ol McDonald had a farm but Pyro burned it down.." Pyro mumbled softly to himself as he played around with the buttons in the control room. "Hmm, I wonder what this button does!" He pressed a small blue button, with an ON label underneath it and suddenly all the monitors going across the panel turned on. "Holy--- Damn! That sonofa-brute had surveillance set up everywhere! Even in my room." He made a voice. "I hope there's not one for the bathroom.." He stuck out his tongue in total disgust. "Please tell me that's not how the old man got his jollies.." He shook his head. "Bad images." In about three seconds he sighed heavily. "This is boring. No wonder Magneto never stayed here long. It's no wonder why the guy is dead!" He laughed, not his usual maniacal laughter, which started to depress him. "Damn. I'm bored out of my skull. Quite literally.." He looked around. "What to do.. what to do.." Suddenly, a light bulb went on in his head and he grabbed his new nifty lighter out from his pocket. "Hmm.."

***  
  
           

"What're ya doin'?" Rogue leaned against the doorframe in the kitchen, with her arms folded loosely across her chest. 

           "Nothin'." Remy was going through the cupboards. He glanced at her and then went back to going through them. "What else would one do in a kitchen, Roguey?" He asked, taking out a can. 

           "I thought you left." She stated simply and took a few steps forward. "Please tell me that Pyro isn't with you."

           "'Chicken Gumbo.'" The Cajun read off the can that he was holding. He made a face at it. "They make it in a can?" 

           "Apparently. But it ain't better than homemade Gumbo. _Tante_ Mattie made the best in the South."

           He snorted as he glanced down at it and then up at her. "You ever try it?"

           She shook her head. "Someone here probably bought it as a joke 'cause I'm Southern. Or Sam bought it."

           He raised a brow thinking 'first Ray and now Sam?' "Sam?"

           "He's from Kentucky, _Sugah_. Only been here a few days. He's really shy an' he's got a cute accent." She said, making sure to thicken her accent at the last statement. 

           "What 'bout _mon_ accent?" He asked, pondering the question himself. "You know you love 'de Cajun accent an' 'de Cajun charm." He thickened his accent, and then chuckled softly. He sounded so funny. 

           "Yeah." She stated flatly as she tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "It's so irresistible." She couldn't help but to lick her lips, which just made Remy smirk. "So, _Gumbo_, there a reason you're here goin' through the cupboards?" 

           "Actually, I came here to see you.."

           She almost smiled, but this was Remy she was dealing with. He once said that to a cashier at a store because he wanted to use her employee discount. "Why Remy," She mocked, gasping and placing her hand over her heart. "I'm ever so touched." 

           He nodded and set the can down on the counter. "As you should be." He suddenly reached out and grabbed her gloved hand. "I wanted to talk to you."

           "Isn't that what you're doin' now?" 

           Remy squeezed her hand. Uh-oh, He was serious. "I wanted to talk with you about what Jean-Luc said, an' goin' back to the Big Easy." 

           "You gonna 'nap me again?" She asked, raising both brows. She pressed her lips together, making a straight line. He wouldn't kidnap her while they were both in the institute, right? 

           He squeezed her hand again, as their eyes met. "Non, I was hopin' you'd come with me, _chérie_.." 

           "You know I can't—"

           "_Marie_." He cut her off abruptly. "Lets go back home. We can start off better there, no one knowin' we're mutants.."

           "Excuse me, but with your eyes and my power, we ain't gettin' away with it." She laughed slightly, just picturing them trying to live normal lives with their 'gifts.' "That ain't nothin' but a daydream." 

"So what?" He mumbled, suddenly sounding annoyed. "Come back with me, Rogue."

Rogue just shook her head. "I can't." Her eyes got watery; it was something she couldn't fight. "Sorry." 

           "Why?"

           It was a simple question, but Rogue just hung her head. Her heart wanted to go, but her brain didn't. Leaving would just throw away all the trust she had to earn, and if something went wrong down South, she wouldn't be able to come back. Not without her dignity, at least. "I just can't, Remy. I'm _sorry_." She stressed the 'sorry' as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She looked up at him. "I really am." 

           The grip he had on her hand loosened, but he did not drop it yet. "Me too. Guess it's too much to ask the woman I love to come with me." He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles softly. He then slowly dropped her hand, set his gloved palm on her cheek and brushed off a new shed tear with his thumb. "I'm goin' back alone then. I ain't sayin' good bye though." 

           "You'll be back, right?" Her voice cracked with latent emotions. "I mean, you always come back.."

           He shook his head as he retracted his hand, "So long, Roguey." She watched him as he walked in the opposite direction, possibly using the backdoor as his escape route.  

           "Remy?"

           He glanced back at her. "_Oui_?" 

           "What ya said.. 'bout leavin' 'the woman you love' was a very soap opera-ish thing to say."

           He smirked. "I don't know what you're talkin' 'bout."

           And with those words, he was gone. Seconds later, the alarm went off, and Rogue smirked, knowing he purposely set it off. 

           "What are you waiting for?" Jubilee appeared in the doorway with her uniform on. "Gosh, you guys make the recruits do _everything_." 

           ***

           After a week of sending Magneto's body to a lab, The Professor finally got what he was waiting for. 

           "Here they are." Hank placed a large envelope on Xavier's desk. "The results of the autopsy." 

           "Did you look at them yet?" Xavier asked, eyeing the envelope with arched brows as he made a steeple with his hands. 

           "No, Charles." Hank admitted, leaning forward on his knuckles. "They're yours to look at. If you need me, you know how to reach me." 

Xavier just watched him until he walked out of the room, and closed the door behind him. Then he reached forward and picked up the envelope. This wasn't going to be good news. 

           ***

_"We can't just go by one experiment, Kelly." _

_"I know that." The man snapped. "Which is why we need to conduct more. I have hired a group of scientists and---"_

_"Where do you plan on getting the mutants? They don't grow on trees."_

_"Well, I know a place where they do.." He placed a folder on the desk and slid it over. On the folder was a label, entitled "Charles Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters."_

__

_Part two completed – January 8, 2004_

· _A big thanks to my beta reader, hnh. :-)_

· _There will only be two parts for this segment._

· _I'm still not going to answer reviews. (If anyone has any questions, just e-mail me.) But I still love all of you. I'm thrilled you guys like it. :D And I know someone who can lick her elbow.. Or at least, close to it. Hope this chapter was satisfaction. If it wasn't, then well, too bad_

· _The format for this chapter is most likely going to come out wrong, so whatever._

· _I love bullets_

_Read and review. :)_

_-- Aro ^^_


	21. Return Part 1

          ***

          Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

          __

          She was on her own.

          Every time Rogue used one of her possessed powers, it was from her own awareness. Saying that she barely broke a sweat would be the understatement of the year, with her heart pounding against her chest, her breaths coming out in short rapid gasps and beads of sweats popping out around her forehead. 

          Three paintballs came whipping at her from behind. She barely teleported in time, and **bamf**'d into the air next to a laser, phased her arm through it as she levitated herself to the ground. The second her feet touched the ground; the ground began to shake, warning her that she had completed one level and was going on to the next. Before she knew it, several lasers had ejected out from the ceiling, getting ready to aim and fire. 

          _Someone up there hates me. _She thought as she blew strands of hair out from her face and glanced up at the control room before dashing off. It had to be true, seeing as she was the only one with a training session that morning. Rogue prayed that it didn't mean she was planned to run that session all morning, because if it did, someone would be in trouble. She could **bamf** into the control room, absorb the people in there and leave. Of course they record every session from the control room, but that was the least of her worries. _Concentrate on the session, Rogue. You'll get your revenge later. _She slipped out a card that was placed between her waist and belt. Before her sessions, she would usually take off her gloves for this reason. Rogue charged the card up and flung it at the laser that had just nearly blasted off her heel. 

Suddenly, she ran into a flat, hard surface. It took her half a minute to realize a wall had shot up from the ground. She then twirled around to see a laser beam coming at her. Closing her eyes tightly, she decided that the training session was over and **bamf**'d out of the danger room. 

***  
  
            
          "You can't just leave training sessions like that." Cyclops bellowed at Rogue who was sitting on the ground, with her back flat up against the wall. 

She simply ignored her "team leader" who was standing there, scolding her and lecturing her on this and that, so she found interest in her fingernails. A frown came upon her face when she realized she had broken a nail. _Oh well. _She shrugged it off. _I'm usually always wearing gloves so it's not like it matters. _

"Are you listening to me?" Cyclops demanded to know, staring down at her. He wasn't exactly thrilled about having a teammate ending their session for no reason. It was the Professor who suggested the extra sessions for Rogue, knowing they would help her gain control over her powers, and so that she would be more comfortable in battle with using them. 

_No. _"Of course." She muttered without looking up at him. _I wonder what he has shoved up his ass? A stick would be too small.. Perhaps Jean.._

"I don't think you are. You're a part of this team, Rogue. Start acting like it." 

"And you're not the boss of me so stop acting like it." She spat at him as she got to her feet. "I have my own free will, Scott. You can't make me do whatever the hell I don't want to." She slipped on her gloves and looked up at him. "Especially since I can easily get out of it." To prove her point, she **bamf**'d from in front of him to behind him and poked his shoulder. "Don't mess with me and don't threaten me." 

"I—" He turned around, his face flushed with anger but right as he turned around she was phasing down through the floor. "Well." He scoffed. "Someone is in a bad mood." 

***

"Puh-ee-oh-tar.." Pyro called, mispronouncing the Russian's name. He let himself in the institute, smiling to himself. 

"How'd you get in here?" Amara was standing on the last stair of the staircase, making a face at him. 

"Door." With his thumb, he pointed behind him and then flashed her a lopsided grin. "Do you people always leave the front door unlocked? That's just asking for uninvited guests." 

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Like you?" 

"I'm _always_ invited."

"Just not put up with."

"Aye! That's comin' from a girl who gave me a lighter!" He proudly took out the lighter. "I cherish it like it was my own son!" 

Amara just stared out into space, wondering what it would be like if Pyro actually was a father. She shuddered at the thought. C'mon, don't you just want to shudder at the thought? 

"So, where's my darlin'?" Pyro asked, putting his lighter back in his pocket. 

Amara became flushed. "Who?"

"Colossus..."

"Upstairs." She said, feeling uncertain of herself. "I didn't know you two were.." She coughed, "You know.." 

He shook his head. "No, I don't." Then he realized it. "Oh! You think my mate, Colossus, is my lover!" Pyro just laughed at that. Actually, he suddenly was unable to talk, or even breathe, because he couldn't stop laughing. His face became as red as his hair, which was actually orange and red, but we'll just over look that. Then, all of a sudden, he just stopped laughing and his face became serious. "Nope, _Sheila_. We're just _really_ good friends." With a satisfied smile, and a wink, he frolicked away, up the stairs.  

***

  
  
          "Scott is, like, totally fluming over that training session." Kitty sat on Rogue's bed, brushing her own hair. 

"He'll soon forget about it and pop a Valium." Rogue mumbled from inside the closet. She sat in there, going through old shoeboxes that were full of papers. 

"You really bruised his pride." Shadowcat laughed lightly as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail. "He's not used to us talking back, or threatening him for that matter." She only got a soft 'Mmhmn' from Rogue. "So, do you think I should cut my hair? Or dye it?"

Rogue poked her head out, and made a face. "Why would you want to do that?" 

"It's just so plain." She flipped the long tail of brunette hair behind her shoulder. "Maybe I should bleach my bangs, like yours." 

"Don't copy the original." Rogue warned as she continued to look through another shoebox. "Plus, that wouldn't look right in your hair. You're destined to be a plain brunette. So, why don't you cut your hair?" 

"I will if you will." 

"Hell no."

"Aw, c'mon!" She fell of the bed and sat crossed legged across from the closet. "Why don't you get white streaks everywhere? Or dye your whole head auburn and then get white streaks?"

"Or not."

"Why not?"

"I like my hair the way it is." Rogue leaned out of the closet, grabbed the knob of the door and slammed it shut. "Leave me and my hair alone, Kit." 

Kitty crawled over and opened the door. "C'mon Rogue, lets get something radical done!"

Using TK, Rogue slammed shut the closet door. "I am not gettin' anything done with someone who uses the word 'radical.'"

"Uh, Rogue?"

"Yeah?" Came the muffled reply.

"How do you plan on finding something in the dark?"

"Shut up."

***

It was right before dinner when Kitty had suggested a trip to the mall. Pyro eagerly agreed, along with Colossus who was hesitated but agreed. The second Amara heard mall, she was already out in the van, honking for them to hurry up. Rogue on the other hand.. 

"Absolutely not." Rogue liked the mall, so she had nothing against going to the mall part. She just didn't want to go with, well, them. 

"Please." Kitty pouted with big, round glossy eyes. "For me, Rogue. _Puh-lease_." She fell to her knees. "Just for a few hours—please." 

"Yeah, Roguey-poo. Please." Pyro grinned from the doorway of their room. "You know you want to so stop bein' difficult and lets go." 

"I ain't goin'." 

"Fine!" Kitty declared getting to her feet. "Don't come with us Rogue. You can just stay here with _Ray_."

"That's cold, Kit. That's real cold." 

"So, are you coming?" The younger female asked with wide, hopeful eyes. She stuck out her bottom lip. 

A loud sigh was heard from Pyro, who had no patience and wanted to go. "Can we go now?" He whined, hitting the side of his head off the white doorframe. 

"Rogue, if you go, I'll.." Kitty bit down on her lower lip. "Be your slave for twenty-four hours."

Pyro elbowed Piotr who was standing behind him. "Sounds kinky, huh?" 

Rogue thought about that, and sighed. "Fine, I'll go. But ya have to do me a favor later."

"A favor?" Kitty asked, laughing as she grabbed Rogue's arm. "Sure thing! Now come on, lets go!"

***  
  
            
          "I didn't come here to walk around." Amara proclaimed crossing her arms. "I came here to shop."

"Well—" Kitty pulled her waist long hair out of the ponytail it was in. "I was thinking about getting something done with my hair—and so was Rogue."

"Oh no, Rogue wasn't." The Southerner snapped, tucking loose strands of hair behind her ears. 

"C'mon mate—" Pyro tugged on Piotr's shirt. "Lets go set a few Aero and such stores on fire." 

"Comrade—" 

"No way!" Rogue grabbed Pyro's arm and looked sternly at Kitty. "You better keep your eyes on this one, Kit. I ain't babysittin' 'im." 

"Rogue." The Valley girl whined, stomping her foot. "I'm not dragging him around with me."

"You invited him." 

Amara glanced down at her watch. "Come on. We don't have all day."

Rogue let go of Pyro, who was trying to bite her arm so she would release him, and walked over to Amara. "Amara and I have some business to do—"

"We do?"

"Yes." She said sharply, and elbowed her. 

"Oh! Right. Business to do."

"Yeah, so we'll meet y'all here in two hours!" Rogue said, and before Kitty could complain, she walked off, dragging Amara behind her. 

"How rude!" Kitty mumbled, scrunching up her forehead. "C'mon boys, we have stuff to do too." 

"Puh-ee-oh-tar?" 

"Yes St. John?"

          "It was nice knowing you." He said as Kitty dragged them in the direction of a unisex hair salon. 

          ***

          "So, what business do we have to attend?" Amara asked, stopping outside the mall. She took out a small mirror from her purse and checked her lip-gloss. 

          "We don't have any."

          Amara inserted the mirror back in her purse and gave Rogue an incredulous look. "Excuse me? I could be doing some major shopping right now." 

          "I have better plans for us, my dear Magma. Don't underestimate me.." And with those words, she walked down the street, Amara at her heels. 

          ***

          "This place smells awful!" Pyro proclaimed, pinching his nose shut with his thumb and index finger. 

          "Sit down and shut up. Remember, this place is very flammable." Kitty warned pushing him down into a chair in the front of the shop. 

          He perked up. "Really?" 

          "Should not have said that." Colossus said, lowering himself down into the seat next to the pyromaniac. "I think it is best if you take away his—"

          "Oh my!" A perky young woman with shoulder length brown hair suddenly appeared before St. John. "Your hair is so freakin' awesome." She ran her hands through his wild hair. "I could do wonders with this hair."

          Kitty politely tapped on her shoulder as she ignored Pyro's deadpanned face and glazed eyes. "Excuse me, miss but I'm the one getting my hair done." 

          "The name isn't miss, Missy, It's Lisa." She said without turning around. "Whoa cutie, you have some fine thick hair. You have a name?"  

          He stood up, with her hands still in his hair. "St. John Gaylord Allerdyce at your service!" 

          _Gaylord? _Kitty thought with a giggle. _Gosh, that, like, totally explains a lot. _

          "And what's your name?" Lisa asked, looking down at Colossus. Pyro's eyes went wide. He sat himself down.

          "Nuh-uh." He warned, glancing over at Piotr. "He's _mine_." 

          Lisa blinked, and then turned around muttering something about how it's always the cute ones. 

          ***

          "Rogue?"

          "Yeah, 'Mar?"

          "You're crazy." 

          "No, we're crazy." Rogue smirked as she dragged the younger girl into a small shop entitled 'Exotic Body Arts.'

          ***

          "Wow, this is some wicked plain girl ya got." Lisa mumbled as Kitty sat herself down in a chair, that's in front of the sink where she would get her shampooing. "We should spice it up a bit. Maybe add a little color, take off a foot.." She stared down at the waist long hair. "Or two." 

          "I'd like to see your degree—" 

          "Tell me if it gets too hot." Lisa mumbled, turning on the water. 

          _Ohmigosh, I have a feeling I'm going to totally regret this. _Kitty said to herself as she put her head back. 

          ***

          "My parents would freak." Amara said pointing to the tongue rings under the glass. 

          "Your parents are in another country."

          "Point taken." 

          "Nose?"

          "Too noticeable." 

          "Lip? Eye brow?"

          "Too noticeable."

          The young man behind the counter, with green hair and several visible piercings on his face, grinned at Amara. "I think I know what you need."

          Amara and Rogue exchanged glances. 

          ***

          "Why do you keep glances at them?" Lisa asked as she ran a comb through Kitty's hair. "They your boyfriends or something?" 

          "No!" Kitty almost laughed. She felt half-offended, but let it go. "I have to keep an eye on St. John, he's a bit obsessed with fire and the last thing we all need is the mall burnt down to the ground."

          "I don't think he could do _that_ much damage." The older female said, laughing as she walked over and picked up a pair of scissors. "I'm bit of a pyromaniac myself." 

          _Only if you knew. _Kitty thought as she brought the scissors closer to her. "Hey! We never discussed anything about cutting my hair!" 

          "You'd look radical with shorter hair. Just give me an estimated amount of inches to cut off, hun." 

          Kitty bit down hard on her lower lip. "Just go for it."

          Lisa raised a brow. "Really?" Maybe that wasn't such a great idea..

          "Yes."

          "All right.."

          Dun dun dun. 

          ***

          It was just about two hours later when Amara and Rogue walked down the stairs of the mall and near the meeting spot. Amara's hair was pushed back into a ponytail, revealing her pierced ears. On each side they were pierced on the ridge of the cartilage with gold miniature crown earrings. 

          "Hey gals!" Pyro wrapped his arms around the two girls. "I missed you both! Me and Colossus have been bored outta our skulls!" 

          "Don't touch me!" Rogue warned, pushing him away. It was then he realized that her black t-shirt, that had a white long sleeved shirt under it, was rolled up, revealing her midriff.  His brows were raised when he noticed her pierced navel.

          "Blimey! What other things did you get pierced?" He asked, with a wink. 

          "I—" Amara announced proudly. "—Got my ears pierced." She showed him the crown studs that were pierced in the cartilage. 

          Suddenly, Piotr appeared before them and cleared his throat. They all looked at him, and so did a few passing people. "Kitty has finished." He took a step to the side, revealing Kitty who was standing behind them with short hair. The two X-[wo]Men's jaws dropped at the sight. Kitty's hair was cut up directly to her chin. 

          "I did a pretty good job, don't you think Al?" Lisa said to her friend as she put money into the cash register. "Good thing she never noticed I screwed it up."

          "It was a good recover, Lisa." The brunette sitting down said, nodding. "Good thing she likes it short. We can't afford another lawsuit."

          "It's nice, Kit." Rogue said, giving her an approving nod. 

          "My hair is still better." Amara ran her fingers through her thick ponytail of dark hair. 

          "It is." Pyro agreed with a wink. 

          "So, Kitty, do you like my ears?" Amara asked, proudly pointing to her ears. 

          "So that's what you two did.." Kitty's eyes trailed down to Rogue's pierced navel. "I don't want to know what else you got pierced." 

          A few minutes later, the four of them were making their way out of the mall. While Pyro chatted it up with Amara, and Colossus just walked, Rogue pulled Kitty aside.

          "Don't forget, you still owe me that favor." She whispered into her ear. Kitty just looked up at her, nodded and wondered what the favor was.

          __

          _Part one completed – January 11, 2004_

· _Thank you Lightspeed Suzuka for the title of the segment._

· _This chapter is dedicated to Lisa, Rogue77 because she's so nifty._

· _Kitty's hair is NOT as short as it is in the future shots._

· _This chapter was written just for fun because I only have the next two chapters planned out. The next one will revolve around Remy._

· _This is my longest story and has the most reviews. Hurray._

· _I'm gonna answer reviews because it's fun and I'm bored! Woo._

· **_Personage_**_ yes, he's leaving. Well, he left. That is sad though.. :( **Ellavira** He was being overly dramatic, or whatever, when he said that.. but he still loves 'er. **Katrina5** I'm starting to think Pyro is the only one keeping this story alive, err, funny too. **The Rogue Cajun** Rogue didn't go with Rem, but keep in mind the FAVOR.. **SassyGrl024** Nope, Rogue didn't go with him. He's already in the Big Easy. **Caliente** Just to let you know, I *love* white chunk tuna fish on a hardroll with cheese. I eat that everyday after school. Wow. Wasn't that useful information? I'm not spilling! :P The third part of this section shall reveal their true relationship.. I think. ;) Better keep an eye out! **Rogue4787** Dun dun dun. I don't think anyone gives two shits about that plot. It's going to have a major effect to the story later, but whatever. The steepling thing is annoying as much as his goddamn eyebrows. I hate the Professor's eyebrows. Hmm, going after Remy.. Don't you wonder what Rogue was looking for.. or what the favor is? ;) I'm trying to keep you interested for the next part, LOL. **Ishandahalf** Why are you confused? And that's sad.. four bads vs. two goods.. A good is that they're still friends! Perhaps even more.. **Lightspeed Suzuka** Aww, but it was a good teaser! Huzzah for MAGICAL Remy and Rogue plushie set! **EternalStarlight** I think I update quite slowly.. I'm glad your into the fic. :) **Rogue77** Look at this spiffy chapter dedicated just to you. I hope you like it. :) **Nie Starwhistler** how about this chapter? **Gothic Cajun **who's tiny one? Yes, that is a bad sign.. dun dun dun. How can Remy help save them when he's in the Big Easy? Oh no! Wow.. I don't think there's a pun in this chapter.. Purposely anyway.. **cool-chick-rae** I'm glad you like the cliffhangers, LOL. I do the same thing with my homework. Bwhaha.****_

· **_If I forgot you, sorry. I still love you.._**

· _Read and review! :)****_

_--Aro ;)****_


	22. Return Part 2

          ***

          Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

          __

          Remy stood in his old room, feeling surprised. He thought they would turn his room into a linen closet or something. They didn't; his room was in same shape he left it in. It actually looked like no one had touched it since he left. Hell, the bed was still unmade. 

          "You're the first person to step foot in this room since you left." _Tante_ Mattie said from the doorway. In her arms were clean, neatly folded sheets. "Everything is how you left it, boy. You were in a rush that night."

          "_Oui_, I was." Remy mumbled, feeling uncomfortable. He suddenly craved a cigarette. Actually, a pack of cigarettes wouldn't even suffice. 

          "Remy—" She set the sheets down on the bed and turned to him. "If you married Bella Donna I fear our family wouldn't be 'ere right now. I never believed that the peace would have lasted." 

          Maybe he could roll his own cigarette. He could make it extra big and smoke his years away from him. His eye twitched at the thought. 

          "_Merci_ Remy." His _tante_ said, smiling. She patted his cheek and made her way out of the room. "Dinner is in an hour. Don't be late." She admonished, making him remember the punishment for being late for dinner: death. 

          Sighing, Remy sat himself down on his bed. This would take some time getting used to. He felt so out of place. His _tante_ was thanking him yet...

          "Hello Remy." Henri LeBeau stood in the doorway of the room, leaning against the doorframe. Henri, who was Jean-Luc's biological son, looked like a younger copy of his father. "Interestin' eyes." The older male examined, rubbing his chin. "Last time I saw you, they were brown." 

          "Good to know you're not color blind." 

          "Good to see you haven't lost the attitude." Henri smirked and stood up straight. "So, what are you doin' back 'ere, Remy?" His 'brother' didn't answer; he only narrowed his eyes. "Let me guess, life—"

          "Henri." Jean-Luc cleared his throat from behind his son. "Let Remy be." 

          Remy noticed the looked exchanged by his so-called family, but their emotions weren't so easy to read. He knew something was up..

          ***

          Dinner was awkward. Well, at least for Remy. Jean-Luc was sitting across from him, Henri at his right and _Tante_ Mattie at his left. He had noticed his _Tante_ held nothing against him, but noticed how Henri didn't seem too fond to have his dear ol brother back home. 

          "Remy, there was something I was meaning to ask you." Jean-Luc said abruptly as he took a sip from his drink. 

          Dramatic music played in Remy's head as he looked up from his plate and at Jean-Luc. "_Oui_?" He picked up his fork and started to dig in. 

          "Where's your wife?"

          Remy choked on his mouthful of chicken. "_Quoi_?" What wife? Maybe he forgot about—no he wouldn't forget about something like that. Unless maybe he was drunk—no, he had been sober for several weeks.. 

          "Rogue Darkholme. Irene's daughter, _hahn_? She was the one with you when you came and got me from the Rippers house, wasn't she?" 

          "_Oui_, but—"

          "So, running away and not marryin' Bella pulled off?" Henri asked, smirking slightly. "At least you're married to the River rat that told you not to marry Bella. I knew you two would end up—"

          "But—"

          "Where is she, Remy?" Jean-Luc asked, after giving Henri a stern look. "Did she stay back home? Afraid to step foot in the bayou?"

          "_Non_." Remy looked, and felt, extremely uncomfortable. "I mean, she came back with me to help save your ass not that long ago." _Just not willingly at first._ He mentally added. 

          "She didn't save my ass." Jean-Luc laughed, not wanting to admit he had to be rescued by a son he disowned and his 'wife.' "But, where is she? Don't tell me you're getting a divorce already." 

          What the hell was going on? Now, the Twilight Zone music was playing in Remy's head. His _Tante_ Mattie just glanced over at him and then went back to picking her chicken off the bone. 

          ***

          "I'm sorry." Kitty was sitting across from Piotr at the small table in the kitchen. Placed in front of her was a huge, round bowl and inside was mixed ingredients to chocolate chip cookies.

          "For what?" He was sitting up straight in the chair, with his arms folded. Kitty had asked him to help her make cookies, and he didn't want to turn her down. 

          "I know you want to go back home. Magneto's death really threw us off, I guess. I'm thinking that's the reason the Professor, Logan and Storm took off with the X-Jet." She shrugged, sighing slightly. Piotr opened his mouth to say something but suddenly someone knocked on the door. Kitty's eyebrows arched up as she slowly turned around. 

          "Here's Johnny!" The door burst open and St. John popped in enthusiastically. Kitty rolled her eyes and went back to mixing, and Piotr just remained the same. "Now where is it.." He glanced around the room and leaped for joy when he saw the fresh pot of coffee. "Mine!" He declared, grinning as he walked over, grabbed a rather large sized mug from the cupboard and poured coffee until it reached the rim. He brought his nose down to the drink and sniffed it. "Yep!" He proclaimed gleefully. "It's not decaf." 

          "Aren't you going to put sugar in it?" Kitty asked, looking over at him. "Or milk?"

          "St. John likes his coffee black."

          "Don't be racist, _mate_." Pyro shot at the Russian. "See you bloody blokes later!" Picking up the mug, he skipped out of the room. 

          "I don't think a mental hospital could hold that guy." Kitty mumbled after a few minutes of silence. She stood up to get the cookie sheet.

          "No." Piotr spoke up, in complete agreement. "They could not."

          Kitty just smiled to herself as she began plopping the dough down on the cookie sheets. She sighed heavily when the kitchen door swung open, yet again. 

          "Where's Rogue?" An impatient Ray asked, staring straight at Kitty. Ray wanted to tell Rogue that he expected someone to get him a new laptop but couldn't find her anywhere. 

          "Shower." Kitty said quickly, followed by a _plop. _"And she's not feeling good so when she gets out, don't bother her."

          "Lovesick, huh?"

          "Ugh!" Kitty pointed the wooden spoon at him with so much force a glob of batter went flying and smacked him right in the forehead. It stuck there, which caused Kitty to burst out laughing. 

          Piotr managed a small smile as he glanced past an annoyed Ray and at Kitty. There was just something about her.. 

          ***

_          "What do you think you're doin'?"_

_          "He betrayed us!"_

_          "Forget about the past, Henri. He's a mutant."_

_          "And so what?"_

_          "Those powers can come in handy, fool. Don't ruin it for us. Now that he's back, things are going to change.."_

          ***

          "They're such pigs." _Tante_ Mattie sighed, picking up the dirty dishes and setting them down in the sink. Remy didn't miss the small smile planted on her lips. "So." She turned on the water in the sink and glanced behind her shoulder at him. "How is Marie doing, child?" 

          "Fine." He brushed it off, not wanting to talk about it. It was pretty obvious and they both knew that. "How are things here?"

          "Fine." She answered back, slightly smirking at him as she went back to the dishes. "How were things in New York?"

          "Fine." He answered, smirking back at her but she wasn't facing him to see it. He began to talk louder, knowing the running water would drown out his words. "Made two good friends. A quiet Russian and an Australian with ADHD."

          "Sounds like you three made quite the team." She had no idea. 

          ***

          He had only been there several hours and it already felt like he was there for several years. Remy now sat in his bedroom, which actually didn't feel like his bedroom anymore. It felt like a bedroom that used to be his but now was a prison cell. 

          The only thing that really caught his attention in the room was a framed picture of Bella and a smaller one of Rogue, which was taken a few weeks after she moved to Louisiana. He threw the picture of his ex-fiancée out the window, and set the one of Rogue down. The last thing he wanted was to have perverted thoughts about a ten year old. He would rather have perverted thoughts about the older Rogue. Oh, how he wanted to bite her again, only, possibly, in a different place. 

          He couldn't help but to wonder where Bella Donna was. Not that he cared, or anything. He did still loathe the woman entirely, especially for turning his family against him, but he was allowed to wonder where she was, right? Oh, shut up. 

          Tante Mattie had thanked him. That left him speechless, and still craving a cigarette. She missed him. At least, he thought she did.

          Jean-Luc didn't seem to miss Remy. Actually, he seemed indifferent about the whole matter.

          Henri, on the other hand, had no problem showing that he hated Remy and hated having him back. 

          Brotherly love, eh?

          ***

          "Damn, damn, damn, _damn_!" Kitty yelled running into a smoke filled kitchen. The fire alarm was blaring. The fire alarm had reminded her of her batch of cookies that she had put in the oven. "Ugh. It like totally smells like charcoaled cookies in here." Realization hit. "Ohmigosh! My cookies!" 

          "Someone shut that damn thing up!" Pyro yelled from the doorway. He had his hands pressed over his ears with a pained look on his face. Piotr stood in back of him, an expressionless look was on his face; he didn't even flinch at the blaring sound. 

          "Hold your horses." The Valley girl snapped climbing onto the table. While coughing, she reached up and phased her hand through the alarm and after a spark flew out from it, it immediately stopped. "Happy?" She asked, waving her hand in front of her face. 

          "No. Because the bloody cookies are _still_ burnin'!" 

          "You can help you know—" She was cut off by surprise when Piotr set the sheet of burnt cookies down, a few inches away from where she stood on the table. "Thank you Piotr." She thanked, smiling down at him. "Would you, like, help me down?" When he did, Pyro rolled his eyes.

          "That's so sweet I think I have a cavity." 

          ***

          "What's wrong with you?" Jean-Luc asked, later on that night. Remy sat on the couch in the living room, staring at a chest board. "You play?"

          His son shrugged, "I guess."

          "You either play or you don't." 

          "Then I play." 

          "Good. Set up the black pieces." Groaning, Remy sat up and started to set up his side of the boards while Jean-Luc pulled over a chair, sat down, and started setting up his side. "So, what did you do while you were away?"

          "Manifested my powers. Found out the truth about Irene." His red eyes glanced up, momentarily meeting Jean-Luc's but then focused on the game. He moved out a pawn. 

          "I—" The older Cajun was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing. "I'll be gettin' that." Remy only shrugged and leaned back as Jean-Luc got up and went to answer the phone.

          ***

          "What?" Jean-Luc snapped, picking up the phone. He hated answering the phone, but he knew his oldest son wouldn't, and that Mattie was already sleeping.

          "Is that anyway to greet an old friend, Jean-Luc?" A calm voice asked from the other side of the phone. 

          "Irene?" He asked in surprise, his voice no higher than a whisper. 

          "Yes. It's Irene and I need you to do me a favor." 

          Seeing as how Irene helped him out plenty in the past, he couldn't say no. "What is it?" 

          "I need you to.."

          ***

          Remy started to twiddle his thumbs as he patiently waited for his father, who was in the next room. When he was about to get up, the doorbell rang. Exhaling deeply, he stood up and dragged his feet over to the door and swung it open. "Yeah?"

          "Hi." Standing in front of him was Rogue, who was wet from head to toe. He hadn't noticed it was raining, but boy, now did he.

          "Rogue." He whispered breathlessly.

          __

          _Part three completed – January 19, 2004_

· _Thanks to my lovely editor, hnh. =]_

· _The next chapter is near completion, hurray. I love the next chapter soon. You know something is wrong when I actually say I like something I wrote.._

· _Even though I'm not in the mood to, I'm going to answer reviews. **Chia4 **I had Pyro's ugly past all planned out but a stupid plot hole got in the way! I still have plots to finish up before I go on about Pyro. Firstly, I have to get the whole Magneto's death thing over with, along with what Kelly is planning to do, and some other stuff.. This fic is nowhere near completion. **Amy85 **I'm glad it took you a while to read.. LOL. I just like hearing that. =] **Rogue4787** You should get what the favor was by the end of this chapter. I put the 'Here's Johnny' part in here JUST FOR YOU. ;) Just wait until the next chapter.. there's ROMY! **Ishandahalf** Well, Remy was in this chapter and the next.. He's gonna be in every chapter for quite a while now. You'll see why in the cliffhanger of the next chapter.. Gosh, I love writing cliffhangers.. One day I hope to be the Cliffhanger Queen. Bwahaha! **Anee** She only got her navel pierced but she did get something else done.. Remy points it out in the next chapter.. ;) **Ellavira**   Kitty does.. it has to do with the cliffhanger coming up in the next chapter. Dun dun dun. **SassyGrl024** Remy was in this chapter. =] I wish I could hug him so badly.. **Caliente** After I post this I have to go review the next chapter to your lovely fic. I read it this morning but didn't have time to review. I tried to put Kiotr in this chapter. But hey, they were in the kitchen together.. ;) I just had pretzels by the way. I love pretzels. And pickles. I *love* pickles and pickle juice. You'll see that you were right about the 'Return' thinger. Rogue has returned to Remy. But will she stay? Oh what will happen? Stay tunned! I sound like a TV commercial gal. It's sad that I'm excited about finishing up and uploading the next chapter. Wow, I gotta finish this off so I'll have stuff to prattle about in the review I'm gonna write you. **Nie Starwhistler** Have you guessed what the favor is by now..? ;) **Gothic Cajun** Uh, I don't think there are puns in this chapter.. but there is in the next! I'm dying my bangs blue. Holla. =] **cool-chick-rae** Who said she didn't get a tattoo? ;) **Lightspeed Suzuka** I doubt I'm going to update any of my stories other than this one for awhile.. I might start the sequel to The Half Burnt Card (I did start one a while ago but deleted it.) **Rogue77** I've run out of things to say now.. =\ I'm glad you liked that chapter. ;)_

_Hmm.. _

_Anyone want a small clip from the next chapter? Y'all do? OH GOODY! _

        "You told them I was your wife?" She hissed through clenched teeth as she grabbed a pillow and swung it at him. 

        "No! Jean-Luc thought misunderstood why we were together back when we—" He fell off the bed when the pillow came in full contact with the side of his head. It could be worse. She could use one of her stolen powers and teleport him to Antarctica and just leave him there—but he didn't do anything wrong! 

        "Do they even know I'm a mutant?" She dropped the pillow and exhaled deeply. "Do they even know what my power is?" Rogue suddenly picked up the pillow and threw it across the room. "Ugh. _Wife_?" 

          He smirked as he folded his arms under his head and propped his legs up on the bed. "A dream come true, _hahn_?" 

        Rogue looked around for something within her reach to chuck at him. "Don't be so cocky, _Gumbo_." She said with a yawn as she decided to give up on searching for something that she could give him a blow to the head with.

_Doesn't that sound GRAND?_

_Yours until the hockey pucks,_

_-- Aro _


	23. Return Part 3

           ***

         Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

         __

            He wasn't expecting her. As much as he would love to admit to himself that he had believed that Rogue would show up at his doorstep, he just couldn't. As a matter of fact, he didn't expect to see Rogue for a while. Strangely enough, more than anything else, he wanted to admit to himself that it was just shock that had made his pulse race and his heart thud in a fast rhythm against his ribcage but it was more than that, and he knew it. 

         He hadn't been hesitant in letting her in. After picking up his jaw, which had fell flat to the ground, he stepped aside, gesturing for her to come in. She had merely stared at him with a blank expression and ever so slowly stepped in. 

         They both stood there in utter silence. He had a sudden desire to pull her into his arms and hug her tightly against him. Knowing Rogue, she would probably just render him unconscious and then leave if he had unexpectedly tried that. 

         She looked cold. That was the understatement of the year. With her make up free face, her blue tinted lips were obvious to the naked eye. As he closed the door, he told her she could take a warm shower—if she wanted to. With emotionless eyes, she nodded her head. 

         While she took a shower, he ran around frantically. First he made his bed, which took awhile. Yes, it's true; Remy Lebeau was 'bed making challenged.' He nearly flipped over the bed when changing the bedspread, and slipped on a thin wool blanket when applying the freshly cleaned sheet. When he heard the water stop running, he dashed over to his dresser. Remy was actually happy that he had put his clothes away earlier, or he would have had to dump out the contents of his duffel bag. 

         "Rem-Rem?" Came the soft Southern voice from behind him. The Cajun slowly turned around to see Rogue standing in the doorway with a green towel wrapped around her fragile body. For once he was glad he wasn't wearing tight pants. "I reckon ya have somethin' fo' a gal to borrow, right?" 

         "I can give you a t-shirt—"

         "Taken." She agreed with absolutely no hesitation. A shirt was really what all she needed. One of his shirts would go down half past the middle of her thighs. Less than a minute later he pulled out a white shirt and a pair of old _cleaned_ boxers. "Thank ya _Sugah_." The 'old' Rogue would have given him a peck on the cheek, but she didn't feel like having his memories floating around in her head. She already permanently had his power, which was enough for her. 

         He watched her like a hawk as she turned around and walked out of the room, not bothering to shut the door behind her. A small smile curved onto his lips as he crossed his arms loosely over his chest. 

         ***

           Remy had tossed the drenched clothes into the dryer and when he returned back to his room, Rogue was laying in his bed, under the covers. Her face was relaxed and her chest slowly rose up and down. She looked so comfortable. He wanted to look comfortable too. He wanted to be laying down right next to her. _You don't always get what you want_, he reminded himself as he stepped into the room, quietly closing the door. 

           On his way over to the bed, he picked up a pair of gloves off from the top of his dresser and slipped them on. Remy then lowered himself down carefully on the bed and just sat in that spot in a deep thought.

         ***

         Kitty sat on her bed, nervously biting her polished nails. She was sitting with her knees up to her chest, and the unoccupied arm hanging loosely around them. 

         Out of nowhere, Amara barged into the room. Her hair was pulled up into a prim bun, which was her usual style now; She wanted to show off her pierced ears. The dark skinned girl looked around. "Where's Rogue?" 

         _Ohmigosh, why does everyone have to be, like, looking around for Rogue now?_ Kitty asked herself as she shrugged at Amara's question. "I think she's in the shower." 

         "All right. Tell her I want to talk to her when she gets out." Amara told her, sounding a bit uneasy as she fiddled with her bun, allowing the hair to fall and lazily flipped her long dark hair behind her shoulder and walked out of the room.

         ***

         "Just for ya to know, I'm not sleepin'." Rogue's voice cut through Remy's thoughts. He glanced behind his shoulder to see her still laying there, but now with open eyes. 

         "Figured as much. You toss and turn when you're sleepin'. And that's when you're bein' still." 

         Her brows arched up. "I don't want to know why you know that." 

         "We've slept in the same bed before, o' in the same room. I have scars to prove it. When I was thirteen you beat me senseless while you were asleep." 

         She kicked him from beneath the covers. "Shut up. I did not." Well, she never remembered doing so.. "Ugh." A soft groan escaped from her lips. "My head is killin' me." 

         Remy swung his legs over, so he could lay back. He laid back, and when he got comfortable, he patted the top of her head. "How did you get here?" 

         "Don't you mean 'why are ya here?'" Rogue asked, glancing up at him. 

         "_Non_. We both know why you're here." He winked down at her with their eyes met. "How many days, or hours, until the X-fools come down here lookin' for you?"

         "I say by tomorrow mornin' Kitty will have blown my cover." A sly smile appeared on her lips. Perhaps she would tell him about her plan later. "The Prof and most of the adults are out on a mission."

         "I guess I have taught you well." He looked impressed, or so she thought. The smirk really hid his expressions well. "And Irene always said I had a bad influence on you." He scratched his goatee.

         "She only said that when the police escorted me home.." Rogue laughed at the memories as she reached up and rubbed her temples with her bare hands. "Why do I have a feelin' I came here for nothin'?"

         "'For nothin''"?" Remy asked, pretending to be shocked. "You're layin' in Remy Lebeau's bed, wearin' 'is clothes and you came here 'for nothin''? A lot of girls would die to be in your place."

         "I ain't like other girls, Rem."

         He nodded, after momentarily thinking about it. "_Oui_. You're not." He patted the top of her head again. "You're special." And he was right.

         ***

         Later that night, Kitty was still sitting on her bed. Now, she was painting her toenails. Apparently she was distracted seeing as how she was painting the skin surrounding the nail, along with the nail. 

         "Hey Kit." Bobby wandered into her room, barging in just like Amara could. In his hand was a white envelope. "Have you seen Rogue? She has mail."

         "Uh." Kitty dropped the now empty bottle of pink nail polish and quickly got off the bed. She walked over to him, with her toes upward. "I'll take it and give her it. She's, uh, taking a shower."

         Bobby just shrugged, and handed her the envelope. "All right."

         When he was gone, The Illinois born girl sighed a breath of relief. "That, like, wasn't too hard." 

         *** 

         "You got your navel pierced?" Remy asked, running his gloved thumb against the sensitive skin surrounding the pierced navel. Amusement shimmered in his eyes. "What else did you get pierced?"

         The female Southerner made a face at the comment. "Why do people always ask me that?"

         "Curiosity. Plus, I know you.. well enough.. to know that's not all that you got done." 

         "'Cuse me?" He gave her a look. "All right, I got a small tattoo done but how did you.."

         "I said 'because I know you well enough to know that's not all what you got done.'" Now, she gave him a look. "Plus, I saw it when you walked out of here with the towel wrapped around you.." He pulled down the shirt, lowered his head and before she could react, he sunk his teeth into her side, just inches away from her belly button. Rogue let out a funny sounding squeal as his fingers reached up into her shirt and started sliding against her bare abdomen. 

         "Will you two stop it?" The door busted open and an annoyed Henri walked in. "I know she's your wife but my room is the next to yours, so keep it down." With a frustrated sigh, he left the room, slamming the door behind him.  

         "Wife?" Remy's red eyes met her green ones. Once again, dramatic music played around in his head.

         ***

         "Kitty, do you know where Rogue is? I need to ask her if I can borrow some of her make up." Now it was Jubilee who barged unsolicited into the room. 

         Kitty slammed her book shut. "She's in the shower, but I don't think she would mind."

         "You sure? I don't feel like getting absorbed.."

         "Nah, really, it's cool." Kitty said quickly, trying to hurry the Asian up. "Just hurry up and get it. She should be out any minute. She won't notice until tomorrow morning so make sure you put it back by then." After exchanging a few more words, Jubilee grabbed Rogue's make up bag and quickly dashed out of the room. _Rogue is going to, like, kill me. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. I just hope she shows up squeaky clean.._

         ***

         "You told them I was your wife?" She hissed through clenched teeth as she grabbed a pillow and swung it at him. 

         "No! Jean-Luc misunderstood why we were together back when we—" He fell off the bed when the pillow came in full contact with the side of his head. It could be worse. She could use one of her stolen powers and teleport him to Antarctica and just leave him there—but he didn't do anything wrong! 

         "Do they even know I'm a mutant?" She dropped the pillow and exhaled deeply. "Do they even know what my power is?" Rogue suddenly picked up the pillow and threw it across the room. "Ugh. _Wife_?" 

           He smirked as he folded his arms under his head and propped his legs up on the bed. "A dream come true, _hahn_?" 

         Rogue looked around for something within her reach to chuck at him. "Don't be so cocky, _Gumbo_." She said with a yawn as she decided to give up on searching for something that she could give him a blow to the head with.

         "I'm glad you're here."

         "You sayin' that to me o' the ceiling?"

         "You."

         "Then look at me when you say it, not the ceiling." 

         "You're naggin' at me." He dropped his legs and sat on. "You _are_ like my wife." He scratched his chin. "Then again.. you've always nagged at me.."

         "Looks like we've been married for quite a few years then."

         He nodded in agreement. "_Oui_. Pretty soon we'll be like an old married couple."

         As disturbing mental images floated into their minds, they switched glances.

         ***

         "Ouch." Amara winced at her red and infected ears as she looked into the mirror. "This is _so_ not cool. Where is that oversized bat?" The young female barged out of the bathroom, looking both flushed and angered. 

         "Wow. Someone looks _fired up_." Jubilee snickered at her use of pun as she walked out from her room. 

         "Where is—What are you wearing?" Amara made a face as the thick make up concealed on the Asian's face. 

         "I am a misunderstood artist." Jubilee said quietly, giving the Brazilian a bow. "I am a tortured soul. I am a grown woman living in a sixteen year old body. Inside I am beautiful and outside I am myself. You are as beautiful as you feel. I am a butterfly going through met—"

         "You're a freak." Amara commented, making a face. She had taken a step or five back when Jubilee had started talking nonsense. 

         "And your ears are infected." Jubilee smirked a little, deciding that was a good enough remark. "Anyway, do you know where Rogue is? I need some make up remover." 

         "I was going to ask _you_ that."  

         "Maybe she's still in the shower."

         "_I_ just took a shower." She flipped her blow-dried hair behind her shoulder. "Maybe she's in her room."

         "I've had Multiple searching around for her." Jubilee bit down on her burgundy colored bottom lip. 

         "Then why'd you ask _me_?"

         "There might be a chance you know where she—" She was cut short when Kitty walked out of her bedroom, reading a book. She glanced up at them, noticing how now they were both staring at her. "Kitty. Where's Rogue?"

         "Is that the phone ringing?" Came her nervous reply as she phase down through the ground.

         "Katherine Pryde!" 

         ***

         Remy made sure to shut the door behind him as he left the room to go check on the dyer. He had to admit, he felt a lot happier. He accidentally charged up his pillow when trying to hit Rogue back with it. She thought it was hilarious. She nearly busted a gut laughing when the feathers went everywhere. He noticed she found those situations hilarious, like when he blew up Ray's laptop. Sometimes it was like she belonged in anger management classes and the others.. It was like she was native from in the mental ward. 

         "Remy." Jean-Luc's voice sliced through his thoughts. 

         Remy slowly turned around, facing his father who had a solemn look on his face. "Yeah?" 

         "I understand Rogue is here."

         Hmm. Maybe Jean-Luc was a psychic. Nah, he was too stupid to be one. "_Oui_, she is. You have a problem with that, _père_?" He asked, bitterly saying the last word. 

         "I have a job for us tonight." The discussion of Rogue had been immediately dropped. 

         Remy raised a brow. "'Us'? And what exactly is that job you want 'us' to do?" He noticed Henri had joined them, but didn't bother to say anything to him. Dramatic music began playing in his head, making him realize something was up. He sensed the change in the latent emotions he could barely sense. 

         "It's our turn to reek havoc on the Rippers. It's our turn for our revenge." Henri said, not sounding too brilliant. "Until a few days ago it was impossible but now we've got something they don't have."

         From down the hall, Remy could see Rogue's head phase out of a wall. Her green eyes met his, and he knew she had heard the short conversation. 

         "A mutant." Remy realized, sounding breathless. Rogue gave him a nod before phasing her head back through the wall. If it hadn't been a serious moment, he probably would have broke down laughing at the sight but instead, realization hit. "You guys are usin' me." 

         Jean-Luc gave him a hearty, loud laugh. "Son, we ain't usin' you. You're a part of this family."

         "You said I wasn't a part of this family." His eyes glowed dangerously.

         His "father" gave him a stern look. "Don't be talkin' like that." Henri walked over and stood next to him. "You'll always be a LeBeau and as long as you're one, there'll always be the Rippers to take care of." Okay, so he wasn't the best person in the world at heartfelt and meaningful speeches. 

         "Why can't this just end? Two families actin' like a bunch of children." Tante Mattie showed up next, tying the rope around her bathrobe. 

         "We blew our chance." Henri gave his younger brother a look. Mattie suddenly slapped him upside the head.

         "You should be thankful he didn't marry that awful girl. Would you want to be in any relation to that family?"

         "Stay out of this, Mattie." 

         "Hey guys." The door at the end of the hallway swung open and Rogue walked out, wearing her now dry clothes; black pants, a black tank top under a zippered up purple hoody, and gloves. Remy had seen her wearing a similar outfit before they moved to New York; it was considered her working out outfit. "I'll help." She walked over and stood next to Remy, who was giving her a strange look.

         "You will?" Jean-Luc asked incredulously as he cocked a brow. 

         "I am part of the family." She made sure to elbow the Cajun standing next to her. 

         ***

         "I've called this meeting for a very good reason." Jubilee proclaimed as the New Recruits sat around the room, all looking impatient. Colossus was leaning against the doorframe of the room, not paying any attention while Pyro laid sprawled out on the ground, asleep. 

         "He's drooling on the carpet." Amara pointed out, pointing down at the sleeping Australian. "That is so gross."

         "Then why don't you wake your lover boy up?" Jubilee hissed, sitting down. "We have important business to discuss! I have found out Kitty and Rogue are sneaking around behind our backs."

         "Don't the older mutants always sneak around behind our backs?" Bobby asked lazily as he scratched the back of his head. "Plus, Rogue has been in the shower all day, how could she do something behind.. _Ooh_." He trailed off as realization hit.  

         "Kitty has informed us that Rogue has been in the shower.. all day long? I smell something fishy."

         "Since when do we care about Rogue's whereabouts?" Ray asked, rolling his eyes as he folded is arms over his chest. 

         "Blimey." Pyro mumbled, turning around on his back. He scratched his upper thigh before turning around again.

         Jubilee ignored the sleep-talking pyromaniac. "Feeling a bit love sick, Ray-Ray?"

         "Piss off Jubes." Ray said with a grin. Everyone looked at him, expecting him to electrocute Jubilee. "What?" He asked noticing the stares. 

         "We need to find Kitty." Piotr glanced over at her when Amara spoke. The young Brazilian stood up.  "We're going to put the cat back inside the bag."

         "Mutants of The Corn." Bobby mumbled, shaking his head. "Anyone up for a game of kickball?" A chorus of "I" came from the small crowd in the room. 

         "—Itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow poka-dot bikini—" St. John mumbled, turning around yet again. "For the first time.." He turned back around, kicking the couch as he did. "—Today."

         "_Awww_." Amara cooed, causing everyone to stare at her. She shrugged and sat back down, her face slightly flushed. 

         "It's time for that kickball game!" Roberto shouted from behind the couch. A bunch of hyperactive teen mutants bounced out of the room. The only remaining people were Ray, Jubilee, Amara, Piotr and the still sleeping Pyro. 

         "Oh well." The Asian shrugged, standing up. "I'm going to go add some special effects to the kickball game. Come with?" She asked, glancing down at Amara who shook her head.

         "I'll come with you." Ray volunteered, getting up as Jubilee walked past him. He slipped an arm around her waist as they walked out of the room. 

         Amara rolled her eyes. "Looks like he moved on."

         "_Mmhmn_." Pyro agreed, turning around. He stared up at the ceiling and then glanced over at Amara. 

         She smiled down at him. "I thought you were sleeping." 

         "Firecracker girl woke me up when she stepped on my ass." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "How rude." He waited for her to say something. "What? You ain't goin' to kiss it better?" Rolling her eyes again, Amara stood up and left the room. Pyro didn't miss the smile on her face. "Good thing she can't fry me, eh mate?" He sat up to see Piotr nowhere in sight. "Mate?"

         ***

         "You're not goin' to have anythin' to do with any of this, Ro'." Remy had asked to be excused and practically dragged Rogue out of the hallway and into a room. 

         "Why not, _husband_ dear?" She asked, running a gloved finger down his cheek. "I'm perfectly capable of takin' care of myself. It's you I worry about.. What can you do? Blow your way up to safety?"

         "You care." He smirked, placing his gloved hand over her hand that was now resting on his cheek.

         "I care that your father and brother don't care about what happens to you as long as they get their revenge." She said softly, staring deeply into his eyes. "I can feel it, Rem. Somethin' bad is gonna happen." 

         "Somethin' bad _will_ happen if you drag yourself into this."

         Now, it was her turn to smirk. She slowly moved in closer to him. "Is that a threat, Mista LeBeau?" Rogue inhaled sharply when he squeezed her hand. 

         "_Oui_." He mumbled huskily as he slowly leaned down towards her face. He didn't stop until his lips were dangerously close to hers. 

         Her face paled, and her eyes went wide. "Don't." 

         As he began to say something, there came a loud, impatient knocking at the door. 

         __

         _The real part 3 completed – January 25, 2004_

_         There's gonna be a part 4.. Here's a little clip of it._

"I love you." Remy kissed his bo staff before inserting it in an inside pocket of his trench coat. Rogue sat on his bed, one brow raised. "_Quoi_?" 

"Do ya kiss your cards too?" 

"Only _mon_ 'lady luck.'"

"Should I be worried you have a fetish for inanimate objects?" Rogue stood up, facing the cocky Cajun. "O' should I be jealous? Perhaps I'll file for divorce." She allowed his arms to encircle around her waist. 

"You don't like being married to this Cajun?" He asked, smirking down at her. With one arm still around her waist, his other hand slid down and squeezed her buttocks. "We can have so much fun together."

"Oh yeah." She purred, resisting the urge to slap him across his smirking face. "Right until I absorb you. How does that sound Rem-Rem?" She cupped the side of his face with her gloved hand. 

Right as he opened his mouth to respond there came a loud knocking at the door. 

"Remy? Rogue? You ready?" Jean-Luc asked; unaware of what was going on inside.  

"You ready?" Rogue asked, in almost a shaky voice. Why was she doing this? Oh yes, For Remy. She brought her gloved hand to his mouth. He bit down the excess materiel and she slipped her hand out of it. With her bare index finger, she lightly touched his cheekbone and quickly pulled away, getting more than enough information. Her glove fell from his mouth.

Feeling a little lightheaded, he gave her a nod. 

***  
  
__

_         Isn't that SWELL?_

_         ;)_

_         Yours until the foot balls,_

_         -- Aro_


	24. Return Part 4

        ***

        Disclaimer – I don't own X-Men: Evolution

        _

        _"We attack tonight."_

        ***

        "I swear to god Rem, if you bite me one more time I'm going to rip out all your teeth with pliers so you can never bite anyone _ever_ again." 

        "_Mais_ _chérie_, you're the only one this Cajun ever wants to bite." He moved in closer to her, to wrap his arm around her thin waist but his arm went through her. He didn't understand fully at first, but then he remembered about her stolen powers. "That's cheatin' Ro'." 

        "Will you two quit it?" Henri asked sounding annoyed. He was sitting at a desk, looking through papers and taking notes.

        _I'll be right back. _Rogue said telepathically to Remy before quickly leaving the room. Shrugging, Remy walked over, behind his brother and glanced down. 

        "What's the matter, Henri? Can't understand the blueprints?" He asked, slightly amused as he felt Henri's raging frustration. 

        "_Non_." Henri mumbled, squinting down before himself. "Can't concentrate when hearin' all your shameless flirtin'."

        "It ain't shameless." The younger Cajun said with a grin. 

        "Don't even know what it is you like about that _fille_." He turned around in the chair and looked up at Remy, whose grin had faded. "A mere river rat." He spat, rolling his eyes. "Never saw 'er as your type." 

        "Better watch it, Hen'." Remy admonished, his red eyes narrowing down. "The walls have ears." And he left it at that as he turned on his heel and walked out of the small office.

        ***

        Piotr was just having another day at the institute when two arms popped out from the wall, grabbed him and pulled him into the wall. He immediately knew who it was: Kitty.  She was the only one he knew who had that type of power.

        "We're in the Professor's office." She said, her voice no higher than a whisper. "It's locked so I'm really the only one who can get in here. I hope you don't mind me dragging you in here it's just that I'm totally, like, bored." She sounded nervous, which almost matched her nervous smile. 

        "It is understandable Kitty." Even though he lowered his voice, it came out loud. 

        "Rogue went to Lousisina." Kitty said, ignoring the fact he didn't even ask. "And I have to keep it a secret as long as possible."

        "Why?"

        She made a face. "I don't know exactly why, but there's a good reason." She bit down on her lower lip. "I think."

        ***

        "Hey 'Mara, your ears look a mite red."

        "Shut up before I—"

        Pyro grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Before you do what, 'Mar?" A goofy grin surpassed his face.

        How could you use your power of fire against someone who could _control_ fire? Life wasn't fair, Amara decided with a heavily sigh. "Didn't your parents ever teach you manners?" She asked, scoffing. 

          "Where are your parents, Amara?" He asked, after blinking down at her momentarily. His grin faded from his face. 

"Back home." She said, after carefully deciding her answer. It made her realize how much she missed home, but when she remembered the plane ride over from Brazil, and how sick she had felt, she reminded herself that she wouldn't be visiting back anytime soon. "Where are yours?" 

He just stared at her blankly before pointing down and walking off. 

***

Remy carefully studied Rogue, who was leaning against the counter in the kitchen talking to Mattie. His eyes roamed up and down her slender figure, stopping at her face. Oh, how she had changed in the past several years. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly against his body; he never wanted to lose her, not again at least. Unprintable images floated around in his head until he realized he was still craving a cigarette. 

"It's good havin' Remy back home, Marie." Tante Mattie said, smiling as she took out a cutting board and placed it next to several potatoes and a cutting knife. "And you." 

"It's good to be back down South." Rogue told her as a small smile curved onto her lips. 

"How did you get back down here, child?" The older woman asked as she began to cut the whole potatoes into thin slices. 

"Flew." The Southerner said with a smirk. "I _borrowed_ an old jet from the institute." 

They both turned around when they heard Remy's hearty laugh. "_Dieu_ Ro'." He smirked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Sometimes I wonder if you were born into a family of thieves." Oh, the irony. 

"No." A faint smile came across her face. "Just born into the world with a curse and a crazed mutant mother." 

"But now you've married into a crazy vengeful family of thieves." Mattie said softly, looking up long enough to give her a wink. 

Rogue shot Remy, who had a slightly deadpanned look on his face, a look. "Yeah, how lucky I am." 

Tante Mattie just smiled to herself as she continued cutting up the potatoes. _They think they can pull a fast one on Mattie do they?_

***

  
        "You can't go out there!" Kitty hissed, grabbing Piotr's arm. "By now they know you're missing."

"I do not think they would notice if I was missing." He said quietly, avoiding any eye contact. 

"They, like, so know we're friends. The second they see you they're gonna question you."

"We are friends?" The Russian asked, blinking in the darkness of the room. He usually wasn't the one to easily make friends. He was even surprised when St. John talked to him, and Remy. He had only considered them teammates, but they soon became comrades.

Instead of saying 'duh' like she usually would have said, Kitty nodded, "Yeah. I think we are." A smile curved onto her thin pink lips.  

Piotr just blinked, and _almost_ smiled. 

***  
  


  
        "I'm finished. Now all you have to do is memorize the blue prints." Henri proclaimed proudly as he handed his younger brother the large piece of paper. Being able to draw maps out of only notes and such was the _only_ thing Henri was useful for, and just about everyone knew it. 

"You want to look this over, Ro'?" Remy asked glancing over at the other Southerner who was sitting on the loveseat in the small office. 

"Nah. I'll just absorb the information from you." She replied, picking at something underneath her nail. 

"That's comfortin'." He easily sensed Henri's confusion so he mumbled, "You don't want to know Hen'. Although you're sittin' ten feet away from someone who can suck information out of you." He wiggled his brows at Rogue, who stuck her tongue out at him. 

"_Suck_?" Henri mused, not fully understanding. Remy just shook his head.

"I said you don't want to know." 

"What kind of sucking? Is there something I—" He stopped abruptly then just blinked.

"Thank ya for the map, Sugah." Rogue said, standing up. "Can ya leave me and Rem alone for a few?" She waited until he left to speak again. "Bein' a telepath ain't half bad. The less they know about my powers the better. Your father already knows I can absorb. That won't be for long." She turned to Remy, her eyes now a unusual dark emerald color. Almost immediately, they flashed back into their familiar grey-green color. "Supper should almost be ready. I'm gonna go help Mattie out, _husband dearest_. _Au revoir mon amour._" She mumbled rolling her eyes. Rogue then hurried out of the room before he could say anything. 

***  
  
        

"I love you." Remy kissed his bo staff before inserting it in an inside pocket of his trench coat. Rogue sat on his bed, one brow raised. "_Quoi_?" 

"Do ya kiss your cards too?" 

"Only _mon_ 'lady luck.'"

"Should I be worried you have a fetish for inanimate objects?" Rogue stood up, facing the cocky Cajun. "O' should I be jealous? Perhaps I'll file for divorce." She allowed his arms to encircle around her waist. 

"You don't like being married to this Cajun?" He asked, smirking down at her. With one arm still around her waist, his other hand slid down and squeezed her buttocks. "We can have so much fun together."

"Oh yeah." She purred, resisting the urge to slap him across his smirking face. "Right until I absorb you. How does that sound Rem-Rem?" She cupped the side of his face with her gloved hand. 

Right as he opened his mouth to respond there came a loud knocking at the door. 

"Remy? Rogue? You ready?" Jean-Luc asked; unaware of what was going on inside.  

"You ready?" Rogue asked, in almost a shaky voice. Why was she doing this? Oh yes, For Remy. She brought her gloved hand to his mouth. He bit down the excess materiel and she slipped her hand out of it. With her bare index finger, she lightly touched his cheekbone and quickly pulled away, getting more than enough information. Her glove fell from his mouth.

Feeling a little lightheaded, he gave her a nod. 

***  
  
          
        Later that night, Kitty allowed Piotr to return to his room. By now, all of the other mutants were sound asleep, or so she prayed. She tiptoed through the wall and quietly walked down the hall. She knew she couldn't go back into her room, for all she knew they booby-trapped it. She slipped down the hall and made her way downstairs; she was famished. As she made her way down the stairs, she heard a small noise from outside the doors. Kitty cautiously walked over to the door, silently wondering if it was Rogue; maybe she had changed her mind, or something, and came back. _What should I do?_ She asked herself as she put her hand on the knob. _Wouldn't Rogue try to contact me with her telepathy? Wouldn't she bamf in here or go through the door?_ She heard another noise, only this time it was louder. The door suddenly burst open and before Kitty had a chance to react, something shot into her neck. She could only remember falling to the ground before slipping into the darkness.

***  
  


  
        "I thought we'd be goin' to their house." Rogue whispered to Remy as they got out of the car. 

"_Non_, Ro'. This is their headquarters, o' somethin'. Ask Henri 'bout it when we get back." He mumbled, not seeming to care much. "Can't you teleport us in there?" 

She shook her head. "I can't teleport blindly. I'll end up teleporting us in a wall o' somethin'." A light bulb clicked on in her head. "But we won't teleport into a wall if we phase through it at the same time!"

He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. "_Quoi_?" He took a step back when she took a step forward. "_Non_. Let Remy enjoy his cigarette." His fag was suddenly pulled away from him and tossed several feet away. _Damn that telekinesis. _

"I want to get this over with." Half a block away from where they stood was the Rippers HQ. She stared down the long dirt road and sighed. "What exactly are we doing?" 

"Gettin' somethin' for Jean-Luc." Remy replied, rummaging around for another cigarette. "A 'rare and valuable jew' o' somethin'." 

"And we're doing it because..?" 

        "I owe 'em. It won't take long. Anymore whining and you're goin' back, Rogue." 

        "You can't do this without me."

        "_Oui_, I can. I'm a t'ief, _chérie_. Bein' a mutant just is the side dish." 

        "Then what am I? The dessert?" 

        He nodded, smirking slightly at an unprintable thought. "Exactly." 

        A small blush crept onto her cheeks; she knew what he was thinking. Deciding to change the subject, she held out her hand. "Let me see the map."

        "_Quoi_? _Non_. You absorbed me for the information." 

        "Give me the goddamn paper." In the darkness of the night, his eyes glowed like two cigarette light burners. Rogue blinked. 'Two cigarette light burners.' She mentally shook her head, knowing she absorbed his craving for cigarettes. 

        "Don't worry about it. I have everything memorized." 

        "But _I_ don't." 

        "You're a goddamn telepath." He reminded her and pointed at his temple. 

        "Oh. Right."

        Rolling his eyes, he grabbed her arm. "C'mon lets go. I can get us past the censors." 

        "How do ya know about the censors?"

        "Henri." He sounded irritated; not a good sign. 

        "How does Henri know about the censors?"

        "Come on Ro'."

        "Never was the patient type, were ya?"

        "Oh, _come on_!" He said impatiently and dragged her through the wooded area, easily sensing the small smile on her lips.

        ***

        The power had been cut off.

        "Ray!" The younger mutants had all been sitting around in Jubilee's room, watching movies when the screen went blank, and the room went dark. 

        "I didn't do it." He mumbled from Jubilee bed. The Asian was sitting on the ground, next to her bed.

        "He's been laying here for the whole time. Someone should go to the basement and check the box." She looked around in the darkness. "Amara? Could you please give us a light? Or Pyro?"

        "They're not in here." Bobby explained, right as a crash was heard outside the room, in the hall. 

        The room went deathly silent.

        "It's probably jus' St. John an' Amara." Sam spoke up. "C'mon y'all let's go check the circuit box. We can't let 'em get to us." 

        "You're right, Sammy-boy." Rahne said from her seat on the floor next to him. She felt him get to his feet. 

        "That's why we choose you." 

        "It's probably just Kitty. We're mutants. We can handle this." Bobby stood up, took a step forward and tripped over Jamie. Suddenly the room got even more crowded, by Jamie's duplicates. 

        "But where's the door?" Jubilee asked, looking around, which was pointless seeing as how she couldn't see anything in front of her face. 

        Ray just sighed from his prone position. "Find me a light bulb." 

        "Unless you light the bulb from where you're sitting, I doubt we can find one." Someone, possibly Bobby, had remarked.

        "There's a lamp next to my bed." Jubilee blinked, realizing her nightstand was less than a foot away from her. "Everyone—don't move!"

        Five minutes later, after much cursing and grunting, a small light lit up the room. And right as it did, the door had burst open.

        ***

        "Get us onto the roof."

        "Why the roof?"

        "Don't ask questions—"

        "When I just can read your mind?" She didn't need to read his mind by the sudden look she received from him. "Shutting up."

        "You sound like Pyro." Wow. Now that was an insult. Well, unless you love Pyro. Unlike Rogue.

        "He's practically been living at the institute. Don't blame me." She encircled her arm around his. "Now, where shall I beam us, Remy?" 

        "Roo—"

        **Bamf.**

        "—f." 

        "Shh." Rogue warned, playfully elbowing him in the side. "Now what, Mista grand master thief?" 

        He shrugged. "I've never started from the roof before."

        Rogue's face deadpanned.

        ***

        Kitty felt herself getting picked up. Her body felt too weak to respond, she was surprised she was conscious. She then felt herself being set down on a cold surface and something large and bulky snapped around her neck. "Ugh." She managed to say before losing consciousness once more. _You're not Rogue…_

        ***

        '_It doesn't look like anyone is here._' Rogue squeezed the Cajun's arm as she looked around absentmindedly. She was waiting for someone to pop out at them with a bazooka. Of course she'd hide behind Remy when that happened and she would yell, 'Take him first!'

        '_Let's just get whatever we have to get and go. I hate doin' this stuff anymore._'

        '_It's not like being a thief is in your blood._' He shot her a look at that comment. '_But somethin' seems weird about this._'

        '_I just think it's weird havin' your voice in my head._' Now it was her turn to shoot him a look. '_Not that I be complainin' chérie." _

        '_We're standin' here like a bunch of idiots. Let's go._' She tugged on his arm. '_You before me._' She gestured. '_The quicker we get outta here, the better.'_

        It wasn't hard for Remy to sense that she was uptight about this. Her earlier words… _"I can feel it, Rem. Somethin' bad is gonna happen." _… Floated around in his head, followed by dramatic music.

        ***

        Wolfsbane dashed down the hallway, on all fours. She didn't understand what was going on but she knew she had to run; get out of the institute. With the mansion now being surrounded by strange men, she didn't know what to do. What was she supposed to do? Maul someone to death? The Scottish lass came to a stop when two heavy boots came out in front of her.

        Her yelp could be heard through out the frantic halls.

        ***

        It may have been Remy who was the first one to hear the footsteps, and signaled to Rogue to be quiet, but it was Rogue who attached herself to his arm; she didn't want to get caught. He backed against the wall, dragged the Southerner, who refused to let go of him, with him. 

        '_Who is it_?' He tried to contact her as he glanced down at her. She didn't look up at him, or show any signs that she had heard him. She was the damn telepath, not him. He shifted his arm, which was starting to feel numb, which lead her to look up at him. 

        "What?" She asked, blinking. The footsteps stopped. Every stand of hair on Rogue's neck and arms stood up straight. "Oh. Sorry!"

        He actually wondered if she was a natural blonde. White hair was considered..

'_Shut up._' Her voice broke through his thoughts as she brought one hand up to her mouth and while biting down on her gloved middle finger; she slid her hand out of her glove.

        The footsteps got closer.

        She detached herself from him and took a few steps forward.

        Remy breathed in sharply when she had came face-to-face with Julien. 

        ***

        "Show no mercy." Senator Kelly said, stepping foot on Xavier's property. He smirked over at his accomplice, Bolivar Trask. He watched as one of his men carried a brunette out of the house, as more men moved in. "Make sure you keep an extra tranquilizer by her. I want no accidents." 

        Trask only smirked, as he imagined the future, a mutant free future.

        ***

        Julien fell unconscious to the ground. Rogue swayed on her feet. Remy immediately put a hand on her shoulder, to steady her. "You okay, _chérie_?"

        "_Oui, __Je devine si_." She mumbled, not sounding sure of herself as she rubbed her temples scarcely. A minute had passed before she said anything. "_Je veux aller_." Rogue said, her voice shaky. Her face was unusually pale, unlike its usual white color. 

        "What?" He asked, slightly making a face. "But—"

        "_Non_." Her voice was oddly husky with a French accent. Before mumbling a few more words in French, she grabbed his arm, her grip was tight, and **bamf**'d them out of there. 

        ***

        With the blink of an eye, Remy now stood on the dirt road, only several feet away from his parked car. "What do you think you're doin'?" He asked, turning to Rogue who had let go of him after they teleported outside. 

        "Do you want to piece together unwanted memories in your head?" She asked, snapping at him. Her grey-green eyes flashed with anger. "Somethin' doesn't seem right."

        "I still have to finish the job."

        "No ya don't." Her eyes met his; they weren't full of anger now. "The Rippers and your family are workin' together. This was supposed to be a set up." 

        ***

        "The line has been disconnected." Rogue was now sitting on Remy's bed, holding the cordless phone as she watched him stuff a few items back into his duffel bag. Everyone in the house was supposedly asleep, and now, Remy wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. 

        "What?" He asked, zippering up the bag in a hurry. 

        "At the institute."

        Remy merely shrugged, not thinking too much about it. "Maybe the Bald one forgot to pay the phone bill."

        Rogue shot him a look. "I have a bad feeling. I want to go back home." 

        Remy sighed heavily, running a hand through his thick copper colored hair. He wasn't even sure of what to do anymore.

        ***

        "Come on, Logan. Lets go back home." Charles Xavier said quietly to Logan as he glanced over at Storm, who was packed and ready to go. "We have an unpleasant mystery to solve."

        "Oh joy." 

        __

        _Crappy Part Four completed – February 5, 2004 _

_        Thank you **hnh** for beta reading. 333_

_        This fic isn't going to be updated for a while. Possibly just a week or two. Just until I finish (or rewrite the half finished chapter of) Learning to Trust. I love y'all.. =] Thanks for putting up with me.. _

_        Yours until the base balls,_

_        -- Aro 3_


	25. Surprises Part 1

**Disclaimer **I don't own X-Men: Evolution

__

_"Ten sedated mutants. There should be more, Kelly." _

"We got all the muties in there. We can't go back, Trask. They'll be expecting us this time."

_"I want my mutants."_

_"What about the serum?"_

"We've already experimented with it and it was a success. I want my mutants, Kelly. Your life depends on this right now. If it doesn't pull through, either will you."

__

"We might be scaring the children." Ororo said to them as she landed the jet. "They're not expecting us back so early and at two in the morning." 

Logan grunted. "They can think of it as a training session." 

__

"The place is so dark." Rogue whispered to Remy as they reached the grounds of the institute. Remy walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe it's so dark because they're sleeping." He suggested, smirking slightly as he squeezed her shoulder. 

She shook her head, "No. Something really doesn't seem right."

"Then let's go check it out." 

"I can't sense her."

"Who?"

"Kitty. R-Remy, I can't sense anyone." 

"Maybe they went out for ice cream?"

"At four A.M.?"

"In California?"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. "C'mon."

__

"Oh my..." Ororo placed her hand over her mouth as she walked down the halls. Even in the slight dimness of the hallway, she could make out the marks on the wall, knocked over tables, holes in the walls. "Logan! Charles!" She gasped for air as she ran frantically, searching each room to find them trashed and mutant teenager free. Her heard was pounding against her chest, as she fell to her knees. By now, she was kneeling down in the middle of a doorway and Logan had reached her, Professor right behind him. "They're gone." She cried, breathlessly, "The children are gone."

__

"The alarms aren't on." Rogue said quietly after she phased both herself and Remy through the fence. "They must have been shut off." 

"Well." Remy decided, crossing his arms. "That's not good." 

"Give me your hand."

He arched up a brow. "Right here.. right now? Kinky." 

"So I can teleport us in there, moron. I'll get you back for that comment later." She grabbed his hand and—**bamf**!  They ended up in the main hall, just a few feet away from the front door, which was unnoticeably cracked open. Rogue immediately noticed the tipped over plants that Storm had kept on each side of the banister of the staircase. Remy grabbed her gloved hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Looks like there was a fight here. Lets check upstairs." He led her upstairs. Right as they reached the top, Wolverine jumped out at him, snarling and growling. 

"_Dieu_!" Remy yelled, stumbling back a few stairs with Rogue. Using TK she steadied them. 

"Logan!" Rogue gasped, running her hand through her hair. "I thought you learned your lesson with the squirrel." 

"This ain't no laughin' matter, Stripes. The others have been abducted." He eyed Remy suspiciously. "Mind tellin' me why you weren't here?" 

"Why? You want me to get abducted? What happened here, Logan? Where is everyone?" Her voice nearly cracked with emotion. "And what about the mission you were on? What's going on?"

__

"The whole security system was jammed. That's why the alarms didn't go off." Ororo walked into Xavier's office. "The cameras weren't even working."

"Could it have been an inside job?" Rogue asked quietly. She and Remy were sitting down in the two leather chairs placed in front of Xavier's desk. Logan then walked in.

"They came through the back entrance. There were at least eight. Didn't sniff out any blood." He informed them. "Other than the student's scents, I couldn't sniff out any familiar scents." 

The Professor stared out the window. His back was too everyone else. "We found out the cause of death of Magneto." 

That got Remy's attention. He glanced over, waiting for the bald telepathic to go on. 

"A chemical of some sort was ejected into his bloodstream. It affected the X-gene." He sighed heavily. "I'll explain more of it later. Right now I'm going to go see if I can go located any of the students on Cerebro. Logan, I'd like you, Rogue and Gambit to go try to track down any familiar scents. Ororo, I'd like you to stay here just incase we track down anyone." 

__

"God, why did I leave?" Rogue asked herself as she slid onto the motorcycle. 

"If you didn't leave, they would have gotten you." Remy said, handing her a helmet as he put on one himself and got on the motor bike, behind her. 

"If I was here, I could have—"

"No use dwelling on the past, Rogue." Ororo walked out into the garage. Logan walked out behind her, wearing his helmet. "Professor wanted me to give you this, Logan." She handed him a communicator. "If you find anything, be careful." She warned him with watery eyes. 

He just gave her a nod before getting on his motorcycle. "You two follow me and no funny stuff."

Remy just smirked as he slid his arms around Rogue's waist. Maybe something good could come out of this..

__

"Are you tryin' to kill me? Slow down!"

'_I'm only tryin' to catch up with Wolvie!_' Rogue explained telepathically to him. '_I guess he has a good trail._' 

'_My death is near._' He said to himself and tightened his arms. '_Now I know why Irene never let you in the driver's seat._'

'_Remy, darlin', I can toss you off here._'

'_Shut up?_'

'_Bingo_.'

'_Just for you.. my wife._'

'_Remy_!'

'_Shutting up_.'

__

"I don't like this Charles." Ororo said, tabbing her eyes with a tissue. "Remember when Magneto went missing?"

"I know, Ororo." He sighed, wheeling over to Cerebro. "We'll find them in time, I promise." 

"In time for _what_?" She asked quietly. "What are you hiding?"

"I know as much as you know."

__

It as a while before Logan stopped. He ended up at a small, old warehouse. Half of it was collapsed. The scent he had been following suddenly disappeared. Rogue and Remy got there, Rogue quickly got off the motorcycle.

"Why'd ya stop?" She asked breathlessly. Remy sat down on the ground, muttering something about a crazy girl and how his life flashed before his eyes. He was used to going fast but it was like Rogue went in high speed in a zigzagged line. He thought he was going to lose his lunch.. _twice_..  

"The scent is gone." He mumbled, without looking back at them. 

"Do ya want to check the shack?" Rogue asked, feeling uncertain of what to do. 

He shook his head and turned back, facing the sitting Cajun and the standing Southerner. "No. I have a feelin' if we go in there, it'll collapse." He took the communicator out from his pocket. "Chuck?" He called into it. 

"He's—" Static. "Busy using." Static. "Cerebro." Came Ororo's voice out of it. "Did you—"

"We found nothin'." After saying that, he turned it off and tossed it down on the ground. "Let's get out of here." 

"I'm drivin'." Remy said to Rogue, who just stood there, staring blankly. "Hey, _chérie_, you all right?" 

"I'm fine." She mumbled, handing him the keys. "Lets go."

Remy's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. Rogue was willingly handing over the keys? Something was wrong..

And what the hell was he doing with the X-Men?

__

"Nothing. I didn't find anything. I couldn't even tract down anyone." The Professor sighed, his eyes full of sadness as he wheeled into his office where Ororo was sitting.

"Logan traced a scent but it seemed to have disappeared." She informed him, with a depressed sigh. "We have to leads as to who or why anyone would kidnap a bunch of teenaged mutants and—Hank." 

"They're bound to use their powers sometime, Ororo. When they do, Cerebro will find them." He reassured her. Too bad he didn't sound certain of himself.

__ 

"I'll try to contact them." Rogue mumbled, leaning against Remy. "But I can't make any promises, my telepathy ain't so grand." 

The five mutants sat around in the living room, unsure of what to do, and what is going to happen. It was now after nine A.M. and they were all tired.

"Mornin' mates! What's up with the down faces?" Pyro stood in the doorway. Amara was standing besides him. 

"What's happened?" She asked them, looking around. "Where are the others? Is someone in trouble? Oh my, why are you guys back here? Wait, am I the one in trouble? Pyro and I went to the Acolytes headquarters, nothing happened, I swear!" She looked on the verge of tears.

Rogue cleared her throat. "The others have been abducted."

__

Ray.

Kurt.

Kitty.

Jubilee.

Jamie.

Rahne. 

Roberto.

Sam. 

Bobby.

Hank. 

'Think Rogue, think. Concentrate.'

__

"Oh, Scott!" Jean laughed, entering the code on the security pad outside on the fence. In return the thing beeped. She made a face, knowing it was correct. She and her fiancé, Scott, had only been away for the weekend. 

"Weird. It's all ready opened." Scott said, raising a brow. "It's never left opened." He looked over at her and they exchanged worried glances before hurrying inside.

__ 

Rogue laid on her bed, in what looked like a deep sleep. But it wasn't. She was trying to contact the others, preferably Kitty, since her and Kitty were friends. So far she was only surrounded in darkness. 

Darkness.

Perhaps Kitty was asleep? Or unconscious?

Rogue wasn't even sure if this was working. She may have a telepath psyche but she was no expert at it. 

Suddenly, it was like light was slowly shining through a crack. As if you were ever so slowly opening your eyes. 

Out of nowhere, she felt herself being jerked up. She tried resisting it, sinking deeper into the darkness, while keeping her eyes on the line of light. 

It wasn't until she felt waves of hysterical emotion when she allowed the unseen force to jerk her forward. She opened her eyes seeing a pair of crimson red orbs staring down at her.

__

Stupid place to leave off, and yes, I know it's short, and I'm sorry. My computer is acting up and before it goes I want to get this chapter up. I've had a horrible day and I'm not in the mood to say anything else.

_Yours until the Hershey kisses,_

_Aro :(_


	26. Surprises Part 2

I was going to edit the last chapter, 'cause I had forgotten dearest Piotr but I don't feel like it so just pretend he was in the last chapter. 

****

****

-

"Ahh! Get the hell away from me you bloody weed whacker!" Pyro ran down the hall with wide, scared eyes. 

The Professor wheeled out of his office, a brow raised at Logan who walked down the hall. Other than a grunt from Wolverine, the next sound heard was the sound of his metal claws snapping back into his forearm. 

"You don't want to know." Logan muttered, narrowing his eyes as he came to a stop. "Find anything with the security cameras?" 

The Professor shook his head. "Afraid not, Logan. The security and alarms were shut off not long after we left. I fear this was an inside job." 

__

'I feel like I was run over by a tractor trailer.' Sam's eyes slowly opened only to reveal that he was strapped to a white cot in a bright white room. As he began to regain consciousness, he felt a dull ache in his neck. 'Where the heck am I? I reckon it ain't the institute.' He tried to use his powers but found his body too weak to respond. What was happening..? He could only close his eyes and hope to wake up back in his bed back home. 

__

"You all right?" Remy was sitting at the edge of her bed, a concerned look sketched on his face. 

"I'm not sure." She stated, sitting up. "I think I had the weirdest.. dream. It was like an out of body experience."

"I had one of those before. I was naked in Antarctica." 

Rogue shot him a look. "I'm serious. I felt like I was connected.." An incredulous look had appeared on her face, as if she couldn't even believe what she was saying. "With someone?" 

"Sure as hell wasn't me."

"Of course it wasn't you. Why the heck would I ever—"

  
"Is there something going on between you two that I don't know about?" Pyro asked, standing in the doorway of her room. He watched the two with amused eyes. 

"Yes." Remy suddenly said in a bored monotone. "We secretly got eloped in Louisiana because I knocked her up." 

"But she can't.." The young pyromaniac was suddenly at a loss of words. "Without you going night-night.. and.. Ooh, you're lying, aren't you?"

"Wow Rem-Rem, you really can't get anything past him." She lightly elbowed him. His arm then wrapped itself around her fragile shoulders.

"Yeah, good thing he won't guess our _real_ secret." 

"Oh great. My bloody Wolvie senses are tingling." They heard John mumbled before speeding off faster than the Roadrunner. 

"Chuck wants to talk to you too." Logan stated, now standing in their doorway. Immediately, Remy removed his arm. "Now."

__

"Find any leads?" Rogue asked, barging into the Professor's office, Remy at her heels. 

"Actually Rogue, I want to piece all this together. Would you mind answering a few questions for me?" 

For a minute, she just stared at him blinking. '_What do you need to know, Prof? I wasn't here when it happened_.' 

'_Can you remember anything that seemed out of place before you left_?' 

'_Sorry, I didn't examine anything before leaving_.'

Remy sensed the telepathic conversation between the two and sat down. There he just sat there, twiddling his thumbs.

'_I think this was an inside job_.'

"And you think I did it?" With her sudden out burst, Remy nearly tipped back in the chair. "You think I went along with kidnappin' my team mates? I may be _the Rogue_ but I ain't a turncoat." 

__

"It really quiet in this joint without all of the little rascals." John declared following Amara around the institute. "Say, 'Mara, you think anything is going on between Wonder Cajun and Super Absorbent Girl?" 

"Shh." She hissed, giving him an aggravated look. 

"Aren't we peachy.."

"I said shut up!"   

"Geesh, what's your problem?"

"I'm sick of doing this." She snapped at him. 

"Then don't walk around."

"Not of walking around!" Amara stared at him like he was a complete idiot but we all know he wasn't a complete idiot; some parts were indeed missing! 

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Pyro asked, suddenly feeling quite cranky and tired instead of hyper. 

"The same thing that's between your ears."

That made no sense. Not even to Pyro. His eye twitched with a furious passion of confusion. "Air?" 

"Dead air."

"Ooh. You blew one?" 

She just decided to give up and hurried off, away from him. 

"What?" He asked out loud, to himself. "_What_?" He just sighed. "Girls; the one thing that's harder to understand than myself." He paused. "Or something?" Another pause. "I don't know!" Pause. "Just shut up!" Pause. "Fine!"

"You know, it's all right to talk to yourself out loud but when you respond.." Remy stood there, his arms crossed over his chest. His usual smirk was placed on his face. 

"Where's your other half?" 

Remy looked around, one brow raised in confusion. "Eh?" 

Pyro now looked as confused as Remy. "Huh?"

"I don't know."

"Me neither." He said, scratching his wild mane of orange hair. He then started frolicking down the hallway and down the staircase, Remy following him. They didn't stop until Pyro bounced into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. "What to eat, what to eat."

"The Professor is scanning Rogue's mind." 

"Mind control." The pyromaniac muttered, picking up a jar of something. He opened it, sniffed it, made a face and put it back in. "It's like _Professor of The Corn_." 

"John." Remy's tone became serious, but the other male didn't seem to notice. "Do you know what happened? Anything that we don't know?" 

"We? You're with the X-Men now? How touchin'! Like a Lifetime movie." 

"Nearly every mutant here was abducted. If you were here—"

"You caught me!" Pyro's dark green eyes flashed. "I have everyone horded in the truck of my van!" He glanced over at the clock. "Well, it's their air time." He slammed the door to the fridge shut and walked out of the room.

"Okay." Remy blinked, slightly deadpanned. "What just happened here?" Deciding that he would never know, he walked back to the Professor's office. 

__ 

"Scott. This is awful. I can't even contact any of them." Jean gave an oh so frustrated sigh.  "And since Cerebro isn't either. This is just awful." 

Scott, who seemed rather flushed, looked just as frustrated as her. He mumbled a bunch of threats and all that other angry-angsty-self-blaming stuff. 

Yeah, so, screw them and lets get back to the important people.

__

Pyro whistled a tune, which sounded like 'Jingle Bells' interacted with 'Opps I Did It Again' as he walked down the hallway. "Here my little fire hazard fireball." He called softly as he decided to walk into her room. The second he stepped about a foot into the room, arms suddenly wrapped around his neck and a damp cloth was placed over his nose. Gasping, he took a deep breath. He felt like his nose hairs were burned as his body when limp and he fell into a deep sleep..

__

Remy walked into Xavier's office right as the Professor was pushed back over ten feet into the wall, and Rogue went sailing back into the wall. She hit the wall hard and slid down it. Rogue now just laid there, half conscious. Charles looked shocked as he stared ahead with wide eyes. 

"Ow." Rogue suddenly mumbled, rubbing her head as she sat up. "Ugh. Apparently my mind didn't want to be tapped into." A soft groan escaped her lips as Remy, who looked slightly concerned, helped her to her feet. 

"You all right?" He asked, gently brushing strands out of her face. 

"No, I have a killer headache." 

"Rogue." Charles spoke up. "I did managed to impel myself into your mind. I did manage to get a glimpse before your mind shut me out." 

"Now he knows your deepest darkest secret." Rogue leaned against Remy, feeling exhausted. She glanced up at him, and let out a small fake sob. 

"He knows what I did last summer."

"You're going to die in seven days."

She leaned in and whispered, "I see dead people." 

The two Southerners looked amused, but clearly the Professor was not. He sat there, deathly pale. The bald telepath was staring at Rogue like she had just gone bald! There happened to be a dark side to the stare. Perhaps envy? Haha, No. 

Professor Xavier cleared his throat. "Rogue. This is serious." 

__

Ororo stood in the control room, examining the controls. Amara had walked in minutes earlier and was now leaning against the wall. 

"I'm sorry." Amara spoke up softly after a while. "If only I was here, I could have stopped them." A small sob escaped her lips as she lowered her head and into her hands and cried. Her small smirk was hidden from the Weather witch who stopped was she was doing and turned around to face the hysterical Brazilian. 

"Child." Her eyes watered up. You could hear thunder coming from outside and if you were outside you would see that it was raining out and that there were a few lightning bolts here and there. Ororo had to remind herself not to get too upset or by tomorrow morning there would be cows in everyone's front yard. "Don't blame yourself for this terrible misfortune."

"But no one is doing anything." She sobbed into her hands. "How are we supposed find them when everyone is just standing around?" 

"We're going to find out who did this, Amara." Ororo reassured her, not feeling too confident about it. If Ororo found out who was behind the abduction, she'd probably do something cruel to them using her earthly powers. After Wolverine used them as a scratching boards and so on. Ororo then hugged Amara, who hesitantly hugged back, tightly, "We're going to get everyone back, Child, I—" She was cut off when she felt something sharp penetrate the back of her neck. Her whole body seemed to feel numb as her vision became blurry. Unwillingly, her eyelids closed and she felt her body come in contact with the ground as she fell into a dreamless sleep.

__

"It's like there's a block that's blocking me, Scott!"

"That's what mental blocks do, Jean. Whoever took them must either be working with a telepath or is one." The annoying couple sat in the living room now. 

"Scott." Jean winced, her fingertips at her temples. She sounded breathless and in sudden pain. Scott was immediately at her side.

"Jean, what's wrong?"

"Scott, they're.. here.." She groaned, falling off the couch. "And they're getting closer.." Jean felt as if someone were forcefully entering her mind and sending shooting pains through her. Veins became noticeable around her forehead and shot out from her neck. It wasn't long until she blacked out. 

"Jean!" Scott cried out as he heard a noise from behind him. He slowly turned around to see Amara standing in the doorway of the room. "Go get Professor X, Magma, now!" 

She didn't run off. She just stood there; a small smile planted on her face.

Seconds later, a scream could be heard throughout the mansion.

__ 

Kitty's eyes slowly opened, only to be greeted by a bright light. She blinked a few times but her eyes refused to adjust. Her body felt worn out and all together, mentally and physically, she felt exhausted. It wasn't long until she slowly started to drift off.

'_Rogue_..'  

***  
  
  
_Wow. I worked so hard on this chapter yet it still feels.. I don't know. It just doesn't feel.. Well, satisfactory. I did work hard on this chapter, although it doesn't show it. Oh well, I'll try to update a tad bit sooner next time._


	27. Surprises Part 3

A block away from Xavier's institute, Mastermind, a mutant with the ability to control minds, was pulled out from the back of a truck. He had chains wrapped around his wrists and a black band around his neck was used to send shocks through his body when he did not obey. Doesn't it sound kinky? Too bad it was Trask's men forcibly pulling him out from the truck, yanking hard on the chains while threatening to shock him.  

"Four mutants have been captured, sir." Six of Trask's men walked over, pulling over Pyro, Ororo, Jean, Scott and Logan. Amara, whose eyes were half closed as if she were in a trance, was walking in behind them. "We should sedate them again incase they wake up on our way back." 

Kelly got out from the passenger side of the truck. "At that boarder house, all the mutants there were also captured. All are back at the headquarters waiting your command, Trask." 

"We're not leaving yet—"

"Crikey!" The sleeping Pyromaniac called out in his sleep. "This barbequed spider tastes like chicken!" He mumbled a few other incoherent things.

"You sure it wasn't a mental institution?" One man asked, glancing down at Pyro. 

"There are three more mutants in that institute and we're not leaving until we have them!" The notorious Trask bellowed. Within a few seconds he smirked. "And I have an idea." 

__

"That sounded like Scott."

"Maybe Jean went down too hard on 'im." 

"Remy." Rogue shot at him, grabbing his arm. "We'll go check it out Professor!" She cut him off, not wanting to hear the Professor tell her anything "serious" as he had put it. A loud bamf'ing noise was heard next.

When Remy blinked, he was over twenty feet in the air, staring down at the ground in the main hall. When they started falling, her own grip tightened. "No! Try again, Rogue, TRY THE FUCK AGAIN!" Another loud bamf and before he knew it, Remy's face was shoved into grass. Groaning, he looked up, spitting out a mouthful of dirt, only to see that they were now outside the institute. "Maybe we should have just walked." The Cajun got to his feet and brushed himself off. "Rogue?" It was now when he realized Rogue wasn't there. 

"Up here." He glanced up to see Rogue standing on the edge of the roof. Another bamf was heard and suddenly, Rogue and Remy became very close. A nervous smile curved onto Rogue's lips at the sudden situation; her legs were wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck. Their faces were only inches apart. "How ya doin'?" 

He placed his arms around her, pulling her closer. "Rogue.." Remy almost sounded breathless.

Rogue stared into his eyes and almost drifted off into them. She was then reminded by why she bamf'd in the first place. "Scott."

He raised a brow. "Scott?" Slight disappoints shimmered unnoticeably when she detached herself from him.

"Yes, he screamed, remember? C'mon I can phase us through the walls." The anxious Rogue grabbed his hand and tried to run off but Remy didn't budge.

"Lets just walk, all right?" He squeezed her hand. '_I don't want you to end up getting both of us stuck in the wall_.' 

"I heard that!"

__

The Professor had wheeled out from the elevator, down the hall and into the main hall. He was practically going warp speed as he entered the living room. His heart skipped a beat when no one was in there. He tried to mentally contact Scott, but received nothing in return. He had also tried Jean, but had the same response. With impatience, he had tried to contact Ororo, Amara and Logan, but again, received nothing. Yes, he had called Pyro and got the same results and finally Rogue but couldn't; it was like she had a mental block up. Finally, in a desperate attempt, he called for Remy right as the front door flew open.

"_Fils de putain_! Not so loud. My mind ain't deaf ya know." Remy snapped, rubbing his temples. 

"Excuse my rudeness, Remy. I am sorry but I was afraid I had lost both of you."

Remy's brows arched up, "I'm touched. Didn't know you cared, Wheels_ cher_." 

Rogue elbowed him but turned her attention to Xavier. "What do you mean, where's Jean.. Scott.." She looked around, "Everyone else?" 

"They're gone." Amara stood in the doorway, with her arms raised. Two fireballs were placed in her hands, dancing wildly. "And soon, you three will be too!" The flames then expanded, creating a circle around them. The flames seemed to just dance around them, and just got higher and higher. 

"Well." Remy coughed, not liking this situation. "This ain't good."           

"Give me your hand." A frantic Rogue grabbed Xavier by the shoulder and the second she felt Remy grab her arm, she bamf'd.

__

"Oh yeah, Rogue. This is so much better." 

"And you can do better? It's not my fault Kurt's psyche is acting up." Rogue snapped at Remy, who was actually correct with his sarcastic words. Rogue had teleported them into the living room, and hadn't teleported Xavier's wheelchair with them. 

"Ye can't escape." The flames seemed to follow them to the other room, and Pyro stood in front of the flames, Amara besides him. 

"Can't you do anything?" A confused Remy asked Rogue after glancing down at the Professor who was laying on the ground. 

"Oh, sure. I can _phase_ them to death." 

"Sounds like a plan, go do it." 

"Can't _you_ do anything?"

"Unless you want me to _blow_ them up, no." 

Now, it's time for Xavier to pipe up and state the obvious while still managing to be informative. "They're under mind control. Be careful and remember that they're not themselves." 

"I don't know; I've always taken Pyro as the schizophrenic one with a homicidal self." 

"Remy, do us a favor and shut up." '_I'm going to phase through them and attack from behind_.' She sent telepathically to him. "Okay?"

"Okay what?" Remy asked, raising a brow. "Okay, I'll shut up?" 

"Now is not a time to act stupid."

"Actually, now isn't the time for a conversation." Xavier corrected her. Hey now, Baldy, that sound like fightin' words! Kidding. Just kidding. Like I'd fight a bald, crippled telepathic when he was done. And I mean it quite literally on the down part. 

Rogue only sighed as she charged through Pyro and the flames. When she reached the other side, Jean appeared before her, knocking her back with a hidden force. Rogue then laid sprawled out on her back, barely missing the flames. She winced at her now scorched shoulder. The fire had burned through the material on her shoulder and had carelessly burned the skin. 

__

"Hey John!" Pyro's eyes were an emotionless color. "C'mon, you're not too much of a homicidal Australian, you're more of a _stereotypical_ one." 

"Remy, we have to get out of here."

Gambit glanced back at the telepath. "But how? You want me to _carry_ you?" Oh wow. Imagine that. 

"Precisely."

Remy mumbled choice words in French before picking up a wooden chair. He charged it up and smirked. "Things are about to get interesting." Pyro suddenly walked forward, glaring at him. "Ah, ah, ah. You may not be in your right state of mind.." _Which is insanity_, he added mentally. "But you should know never to mess with a guy who's holding something that'll make you go _boom-boom_." 

__

"I said don't mess with me." Rogue mumbled the second Jean fell unconscious to the ground. The southerner stood there, staring down at the prone body. She fell to her knees grunting lightly. A fast paced throb raced through her temples. The noises around her seemed to get louder. She could hear the rain hitting against the windows as it came down harder. Immediately, she sensed someone behind her. Rogue slowly turned around to see Cyclops standing behind her, one hand placed at the side of his visor. Right as it lit up, the wall exploded. 

__                                                                                            

"I don't get paid enough." Gambit, with the Professor tossed over his shoulder, wheezed as he walked through the debris of the wall and chair. "For a crippled guy, you're heavy." 

Rolling her eyes, Rogue looked back at the distracted possessed Cyclops and kicked him hard in the shins, causing him to lose balance. The second he let his guard down, her bare fingers connected with the side of his face. "Night-night, Cyke." She mumbled, feeling lightheaded as she only received old memories instead of recent (She had barely gotten memories from her earlier victim, Jean). When a syringe fell from his hand, she shakily picked it up. "Lets get out of here. Now." 

"That's easy for you to say." Remy said, glancing sideways at the Professor's behind. 

"I'm serious. I can feel it. People are surrounding the house."

"She is correct." The Professor said from behind Remy. He sounded breathless, must be because Remy's shoulder was digging into his gut. "I want you two to leave me here and flee as fast as you can." 

"Don't you watch movies? You're just wasting your breath; the beloved, nice fellow always says that and his friends don't." Rogue staggered forward, gripping onto Remy's arm.

"Just be careful.." He said, eyeing her shoulder. 

"Wolverine." The Professor suddenly said as a growl was heard. "Hurry—now!" 

But it was too late.

The force had attacked from behind, tackling them to the ground. The Professor's warning had come too late. Rogue stumbled back several feet. Her eyes flashed as the lights in the mansion flickered off from the thunderstorm outside, which was most likely being controlled by Storm. 

Rogue immediately spotted Logan in the dark. "I ain't gonna let ya do this." Her eyes began to glow red and a red beam shot from her eyes, hitting Logan in the chest and sending him hurling through walls and into outside. Rogue began to scream at her loss of control over the stolen power. 

"Close your eyes, Rogue, close them now!" Xavier yelled, struggling to sit up. "Stop her, Remy, get her to close her eyes."

"What the hell do you want me to do; put my hands over her eyes?" Remy snapped, getting to his feet. He walked up behind Rogue and put his hands on her shoulders. "Close your eyes Rogue." The wall was now practically gone. The door started opening. Heavy footsteps could be heard everywhere. "Just close your eyes, now!" He squeezed her shoulders. "Rogue—" 

"I can't!" She yelled, feeling tears slid down her cheeks. "The force—" The beams came to a stop. Rogue fell back into Remy's arms, semi-unconscious. He scooped her up in his arms. 

"Get us out of here, now." He ordered, holding her tightly against him. She just blinked, and they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

__

--TBC


	28. Hideout Part 1

Correction—In the beginning of the last chapter, I put Mastermind instead of Mesmero. Whoops. I now shall admit I am deeply in love with Mastermind, who looks like he starred in Planet of the Apes, which is why I typed it out instead. Yeah, right. 

Since I seem to be losing reviewers, I've decided to give out free TVs to my gullible readers! Just send your address to…

--

Rogue felt like she was floating. Not flying, just floating in an ocean of darkness. Everything just felt so peaceful and calm. Suddenly a foul odor carelessly encircled her, engulfing her in its revolting aroma. 

"_Rogue_."

Oh, and now the repulsive odor was talking to her. Had she lost her mind? Perhaps, but for now, that's another story. Her eyes slowly opened to see Remy hovering above her with a concern look planted on his face. 

Okay, so the sickening aroma wasn't talking to her. Anyone could make that mistake. Shut up, they could and you know it. 

"You all right?" He asked softly, his jaw tightening as he brushed free strands of hair off her face and behind her ear. 

"Where are we?" She asked, ignoring his question due to the fact that the smell was completely nauseating and stomach churning. 

"The sewer." Remy answered naturally, as if it were perfectly normal to be in a sewer. 

"Why the hell did you bring us to a sewer?" She sat up, scrunching her face together in confusion. 

His face slightly deadpanned. Right. Like he carried her into a sewer. Not exactly the place he would want to—never mind. "_I_ didn't. _You_ did." 

"Why would I bring us to a sewer?" 

He gently tapped her forehead. "Beats me. I don't know what goes on in there." 

She made a face at him. "Shouldn't we be getting back to the institute? I mean, with our short disappearance.." She trailed off when she noticed the look on his face. "What?" 

"Rogue, we can't go back."

Her brows arched up. "And why not?" 

He ignored her question, thinking she was messing around. "How's your shoulder?" 

Rogue's expression became blank and after half a second, she blinked. "It's all right." Her eye twitched as she tried to remember what had happened, and only remembered seeing Jean push her towards flames. "Why do I feel like I'm in an episode of the Twilight Zone?" 

"Because everyone gets their own Twilight Zone episode." He helped her to her feet. "C'mon, lets get out of here. But lets walk.."

"I can tele—"

"That's quite all right. But Rogue.. are you.." 

"Am I what?" She asked, raising a brow. He stared at her with a perplexed look. She leaned in. "Are _you_..?"

"'Are you' what?" Remy leaned in closer.

"Are you.. a murderer? A kidnapper? A stalker?"  Rogue asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Is there something you need to tell me?" 

"Yes. I think you're feverish." 

"Who are you two?" A voice suddenly snapped. Rogue and Remy turned their heads to see an African American teenager standing there. His body was covered in plated spikes. He looked and sounded very teen angst-y. He was clutching his neck as he stared at them with angry eyes. He had blonde hair that was shaped weird.

Rogue's jaw dropped. "Holy crap, it's _Sisco_." 

__

"Well, if it isn't the worlds strongest telepath; Charles Xavier." Trask smirked down at the bald man who had his hands tied to the metal bars long side the stretcher he was on. 

"You're not going to get away with this." He started feeling drowsy from being injected with a tranquilizer. 

"I already have, Charles, I already have."

__

He eyed Remy and seemed to approve with his appearance but glared at Rogue. "Leave here. Now." It sounded like a threat. Perhaps it was meant as one. 

"Don't worry about it." Rogue unwrapped her arms from around Remy's neck. "Sorry to intrude on your home. But before we go can you give me some of your fabulous interior decorating secrets? And what's that fabulous smell? Year old fish with a hint of rotting—"

"Rogue." Remy warned, grabbing her wrist. "Don't." Her sudden change of attitude was certainly an eyebrow lifter. "The place we were staying at was attacked by.." He trailed off, not certain of how to describe it. "We're hiding out." 

"What are you saying? We weren't attacked." Rogue bit down on her lower lip. "Jean just went a psycho." Short pause. "I think." 

"Jean? Jean Grey from Xavier's institute?" The young man suddenly said, his eyes widening as he griped his arm. "My Aunt, she's an instructor there." 

"Ororo?" Rogue asked as the light shined through the clouds in her mind. "You're Devon!"

"Evan." He corrected, clearing his throat. "What happened? Is everything all right?" 

"No." Remy spoke up, glancing down at the sullied ground. "Everything isn't." 

__

"Get a sedative in here _stat_!" 

"Let me out!" Wanda yelled, struggling to escape from the straps that held her unwillingly against the metal table. She could feel her hex powers fading away inside of her. Things surrounding her were shaking violently. As long as she could keep it up, she would continue to fight, to struggle, to escape. The lights flickered. A needle pierced her skin. The sedating fluid entered her. The lights flickered again. She screamed. The lights flickered. Her scream soon faded. The lights flickered for the last time.

__

"So, Spyke, can I take a guess why ya took that codename?" Rogue asked, poking a spike with her gloved index finger. "Were ya born with these li'l things? God bless your mother."

He huffed, annoyed by her rude actions. He tugged a ringlet of white hair. "This natural? Were you born being so obnoxious? God bless _your_ mother." 

Rogue's eyes flashed with anger. She brought her hand up to her face, bit down on excess glove material and slid her hand out of it. "I'll show you obnoxious!" She raised her arm, ready to absorb his spiked arse.

"Ah-ah-ah!" Remy grabbed Rogue's elbow from behind. "Play nice, Roguey." 

"Fine." She jerked her arm out of his grip and slipped her glove back on and glanced over at Spyke. "What's your problem anyway? Ororo practically praised you." The Southerner eyed him. "You looked different in the pictures."

"My x-gene was affected by Power8." He snapped at her. She took a step back. "We thought we got rid of it but we didn't." 

"'We'?" Remy asked, sensing anger, guilt and sadness washing over the younger male. 

"The Mortlocks." 

"Yeah, Ororo said somethin' about them. So where is your little gang of abnormally mutated mutants?" Rogue asked, not seeming to care too much about any of this. 

"They're dead." 

__

A man in a white lab coat took out a syringe as he entered a room. 

"Aw man." The fuzzy blue mutant groaned, "What are you guys doing to me?" He asked in a drowsy German slur. 

The man ignored him and glanced over at the orderly who was writing something down on a chart. "Is it time?" 

The other male shook his head. "He still has three more 'weakening' treatments, besides, Trask wants a full report before you stick 'em with the serum." 

_'The serum'_? Kurt flinched at those words. _What serum_? He pondered, looking out of one eye. _Why can't I teleport? _He asked himself, half expecting an answer. _And why am I not hungry?_

__

Rogue shivered as she leaned against the wall. She wrapped her arms around herself and kept her eyes on the ground. She averted her eyes from Spyke and Remy. "What's Power8?" She asked, not bothering to look up at them.

"A sports drink."

A smirk curved on her lips. "Death by a sports drink?" 

Evan ignored her statement and explained how some guy named Guy Spears released a sport drink that harmed mutants. He said that the Professor told him about it and supposedly the guy stopped production of the drink. He then went on about how a month ago, chemicals were released into the sewage, weakening them. Before they knew it, they slowly started getting sick and eventually, one by one, they died. Right as he finished, Spyke buckled over in a coughing fit. 

Rogue glanced over at him, her eyes narrowing at him. "You've been inflected with _it_." 

"It's not contagious." 

"How do you know?" She asked, taking a step forward. "How do you know you haven't spread this mutant killing disease over to us?"

"Because it has to be injected into your body and into your bloodstream. It only affects individuals with the x-gene." He snapped at her. 

"You have blood all over your mouth." Rogue said quietly. She stared at him, the cold look in her eyes softened. "You're dying." 

"Can't get anything past you."

"Lord. Do you have a spike shoved up your arse o' what?" 

Once again, he ignored her. "After we were weakened, we were captured, got stuck with something and released back here with blank memories from what had happened during the abduction." 

"Yet you never went to the institute for help?" Rogue questioned, not buying it. 

"It was too late."

"This is a bunch of bull!"

He shot a spike out at her. It whizzed past her head and stuck itself to the wall. Remy immediately pushed him up against a wall. "Don't try that again. You hurt her and I make sure you die a whole lot faster. Right now all I can promise is that we'll find out whoever is doing this?"

Spyke stared at him. He knew somehow they would probably manage, but at what cost? "I bet. But for the stake of which one of your lives?" Remy glanced back at Rogue, unsure of what to say.

__

"First, we weaken your body." Trask smirked down at Charles who was strapped to a metal table. He took out a syringe and injected the sedating fluids into his blood stream. "Then we inject a chemical into your blood stream that has some _deadly_ side effects. All-in-all Xavier, mutants will soon be a thing of the past."

__

Don't like Spyke? That's nice. Neither do I but I don't care. He'll be gone by the end of this segment. 

_Answers to reviews:_

**_Ishandahalf _**_ Dun dun dun. Not much action, sadly. Can't write that. But there is Dun dun dun! Steph **Silverstar** does this count as a cliffie? But yes, haha! Cliffies to go around! :D **Persona the ITG** Your review made me crack up. :) My mind came up with some wacky suggestions other than a sewer.. *wink* **Goldylokz ***gives you a thing of eye drop thingers* Sorry about your eyes. :P I'm UBER happy you like this fic! I got all giddy when you review because I love your work. 3 Squirrels are funny! Three years ago I had to write a report on several different kinds of animals, and I picked squirrels and for where they could be found I put something like, "they can be found in trees and sometimes in the middle of the street" get it? **blck fire**  Yay for intense but awesome! 8) **cool-chick-rae **AHHH! I 3 NICKELBACK! 3 3 3 **Roguechere **It was rather inconsiderate, eh? But it was either that or get captured. And I couldn't have that! After all, I need the two for several more chapters THEN they may get captured and run off and what not. ^_^ Hope ye liked this chapter! **Rogue4787 **As Simba said, "I laugh in the face of danger, HA HA HA." Of course then he screamed and ran off or something. I haven't seen the Lion King in years so just ignore that part. I can't get too serious without adding some humor, which all-in-all works out. ^^ **Thanks for taking the time to review, y'all! **_


	29. Hideout Part 2

"Don't worry, Rem-Rem. I'll be right back." Rogue smiled at the Cajun's concern. She had told him she was heading to the store for some water and food. 

"Be careful out there." 

"I think I can protect myself." She flexed, and then rolled her eyes. "I'll even _walk_ there." 

"Maybe I should go with you.."

Spyke, who was sitting against the wall, rolled his eyes at them. He couldn't believe those two. I mean, could you? His stomach was practically churning with all the concern and love blooming between the two Southerners. 

"You go out there with those eyes? That just screams mutant."

"They could easily be mistaken for contacts." 

She patted his cheek. "Maybe in your world. But I'm going. You say here and make sure Sir Spikesalot doesn't poke his eye out." 

__

"Auntie O." Evan sighed after several minutes of silence between he and Gambit. "We have to find out where they're hiding them before it's too late." He soon went into another coughing spasm. 

"I think it's too late for you." Remy said shifting weight from one leg to the other. 

"But it's not too late for us to save them."

"So, you expect three and a half of us to save a bunch of mutants? I don't care if they're close to anyone, it sounds ridiculous." 

"They do it on cartoons all the time. It's possible with the right plan." 

Remy's brows arched up. "Do you have a plan?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm—" He winced but kept going on. "Working on one but I don't think you'll like it." 

"Why?"

"Because it involves the three of us."

__

What if someone recognized her as a mutant? I mean the people of Bayville weren't all that bright (Can we say DUNCAN?) but there had to be someone who'd recognize her as one of Xavier's students. When she walked into the store, the three people in there didn't seem to notice or care much. 

Feeling her pulse quicken, she decided just to get water and to worry about what to get to eat later. Rogue quickly walked over to were they had gallons of spring water. As she bent down to grab one, she had suddenly felt dizzy. When the small wave of dizziness passed, a throbbing pain came between her temples. Rogue fell to her knees as a rack of variety of potato chips swung back and hit the ground. Rogue quickly stood up, grabbed the water and **bamf**'d out of there. 

__

"So, you want Rogue and I to risk our lives in a plan that most likely won't work?" 

"You know that if Rogue hears my plan, she'll be willing to do it at any cost?"

"What plan?" Rogue asked, appearing behind them holding a jug of water. She walked over to dying African American and knelled down next to him. "I have some fresh water. I reckon it's a bit more fresh than the water here."

Remy merely grumbled something about her not being able to walk to the store and back in such a short time but dropped it. "Spyke here wants you to go meander around town saying that you got attacked by a mutant in the sewer system so when the asses that abducted mutants come down here, we can trace them back to their hideout." 

She made a face. "I don't like it. Too many holes in it." 

"You think you can think of something better?" Even asked with a dry cough. 

Rogue ran her tongue over her dry lips as she glanced behind her shoulder at Remy. "Yes, I do."

__

"Do you want to die like all your other mutie friends? Then tell us where the other mutants are!" Trask yelled at the mutant, known as Calliban, who just remained silent. "Fine, two can play it at this game." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Get Mesmero in here, _now_." 

Kelly then walked in. "Mutants have been relocated back at the mansion."

"Lets get on them. Now." Trask ordered, giving Calliban a look before getting up. "You better stay put and cooperate before you end up like your other Morlock mutie friends."

__

"You're crazy. You're fucking crazy." Remy's grip around Rogue's waist tightened. "You brought us back to the place we had to flee from." 

Spyke doubled over, the spiked plates, which were once armor that practically covered his whole body, started to crack and by piece by piece it fell off. "It doesn't matter." He groaned. "Sooner or later they'd track us."

"Mutant tracking device?" Remy questioned as Rogue pulled out of the embrace his arm had around her. 

"Yeah; Calliban." 

"Isn't he the mutant who can trace and find lower level mutants?"

"Yes." Spyke snapped at her. "He's the reason they took all of us. For him." He yelled, falling back on his _boney_ behind. "Not much time left." He wheezed.

"This is stupid."

"Remy." Rogue tried not to raise her voice in annoyance at him, but she did.

"What?" He snapped back at her, in the same tone of voice. He was expecting a snappy comeback but instead, she hugged him. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

"Don't worry. Everything will turn out fine." She inhaled deeply when he hugged her back tightly. "I promise."

Evan looked up at the two and rolled his eyes. "You two are pathetic."

The embrace was broken. Remy stared down at the panting mutant. "For someone who is dying, you're certainly—"

"They're close. By the gates." Rogue suddenly said, losing her balance. She gripped onto the couch. "Lets separate. I'll go upstairs, you two stay down here. And with those words she teleported out of there.

"You can feel it." Evan said to Remy as he struggled to get to his feet. Remy asked him what he meant as he gave him a hand. "You know something that ain't too good is going to happen, man and you know what? I can feel it too and I can feel that—" He didn't even get to finish his sentence as he collapsed to the ground, in a semi-conscious state. His pupils flicked back and forth as Remy picked him up and put the younger mutants over his shoulder. 

"I just want this to end." Remy admitted out loud as the footsteps came. He quickly got out of the room, getting out a card in advance out of his pocket.

__

Her heart pounded against her chest in such an alarming rate she thought her heart would explode. She could both hear and feel the fast paced rhythm of her pulse circulated in her ears. The throbbing pain found it's way back to its place between her temples. Rogue ran wildly through the halls. Gasping for air, she ran into the library only to run hard into someone wearing a black outfit and facemask. He smiled down at her. 

"Stay away!" She screamed, throwing her hands at him. A force caused by telekinesis sent him flying into the built in bookcase. A sob erupted from her throat as pushed back memories resurfaced in her mind. "No!" The Rogue yelled, stumbling back. "No." She phased through the wall and into the next room, which was the ransacked room the mutant teenagers had been attacked in. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind. She felt something sharp being held into the flesh of her skin.

"Why don't you calm down, _mutant_? Don't you want to play?"

"I'm a mutant and you're using a knife against me?" She laughed as the blade of the knife cut into the sensitive skin. "I almost feel bad for you." She elbowed him in the stomach. The knife cut deeper into her neck. She threw him over her shoulder. The knife left a two inch long cut in her neck. Blood seeped from the thin, and not very deep, cut. When the guy got back to his feet, she picked him up, hovering his body several feet from the ground. '_You don't want to play with this mutant, buddy.' _Rogue sent telepathically to him. That was when the door flew open. The loud sound of heavy footsteps destroyed her concentration. She dropped the man and teleported out of there. The deafening sound of a gun went off and a bullet whizzed passed the blue smoke.

__

"I'm slowing you down, man." Evan groaned from behind his shoulder. "Just forget about me. I'm—" He was cut off by a gun shot heard from directly up from them. "Get out of here already! Rogue knows where to meet us." Remy grunted as he quickly walked through the kitchen, and through a pantry. "The back door is on the other side of the kitchen." Spyke had yelled when they reached a dead end (which actually was a stack of pork and bean cans. 

Groaning, Remy turned around in the other direction and when he had finally made it outside, two men walked out in front of him.

"You can't escape us."

"Want to bet?" The card glowed with kinetic energy. 

__

Rogue had teleported onto the roof. She landed on a tilted part and tumbled down it. She teleported, once again, so she wouldn't fall off the roof and pummel to her death. This time she reappeared in a neat and tidy bedroom, which was probably Xavier's. Everything she had pushed back into her mind, the memories, and the pain of her brunt shoulder, surfaced in her mind. She fell to her knees and clutched her head. _Make it stop_. She begged as tears squeezed their way out of her closed eyes. _Please make it all stop_. The unwanted memories seemed to slam their way into her mind. Rogue get out a gasp as the ground disappeared beneath her and she started falling. Her body just shut down as she fell down to the first floor. With no powers to stop her, she hit the ground. Hard. 

A young man, who had taken his mask off, walked over to her unconscious body. He gently kicked her before he unclipped his walkie-talkie off from his belt. He pressed a button as he brought it to his mouth. "Caught one."

__

Remy tumbled back, Evan landed next to him. His eyes rolled back into his head after mumbling something in the Cajun's ear. Remy glanced down at him, knowing he was gone and there was nothing he could do, nothing but to stop whoever was killing off the mutants. The only way he could do that was to get captured. Remy sighed as more men appeared. He pulled out more cards from his pocket. He wasn't going over to give up that easy and they weren't going to get him without a fight.

__

I wrote down the plots for each part and since two and three had very little, I just put them together. The next one with most likely have all three and one in the future will have four. Hope y'all liked this chapter.. ^_^; 

**Ishandahalf **More Dun dun dun! Perhaps I should entitle the next part DUN DUN DUN. Or.. not. ^^ 

**Personage **Rogue's in the clouds for a reason and it's quite amusing, eh? 

**Goldylokz **Yeah, I never cared too much for him. He leaves being some senseless, flat character and comes back all angst-y acting like he's the macho king. Whatever.

**Star-of-Chaos** Well, imagine if he were born with spikes.. ;-) 

**RoguesHeart **Spyke was such an "angry teen" in Uprising I decided to make him even more of an "angry teen." ^_^ I'll try to speed up a bit on my updates. My crack bunny seems to be sedated. HMMM.. 

**Roguechere **Hyuck hyuck! Your review made me realized I've been spelling MORLOCKS.. MORTLOCKS.. Oh well! ^__^ Huzzah! If my story sucks at least the writing style of it will get a chuckle out of you. :) 

**cool- chick-rae **Spyke is dead. Lets throw a party after his funeral. Hah. Right. He is indeed a crappy character. 

**blck fire** It's SisQo? I think I wrote Sisco. Oh well. Same thing.

**willa. j **Sorry, all out of TVs! :( You think you know where is this going!? Good maybe you could help me then..

**Steph Silverstar** It does what? 

**SweetRevenge151 **Aww, you think my story is pure gold!? Geezums, you should see it in the morning before it rejuvenates itselfs!

**Lady Farevay **Right now Rogue and Remy are borderline at being friends and being more than friends. I'm glad you like my weird writing style. I think I put 'boney ass' or something somewhere in this chapter for you. :P I LOVE PUNS. They're so punful! 

kitsu black If you want to know what happens, hack into my computer, go into the file entitled Changes and read the plots I wrote for this in there. Sounds simple enough. :) I will tell you at least THREE mutants will die in upcoming chapters. ;) 

**Persona the ITG **Spyke has always irritated me in the 'nails scratching chalkboard' or 'biting down on foil when you have filings in' kind of way. You can take my judgment if you want.. I like to think I'm partially insane although I know someone out there would object to that and say I'm.. completely insane? Oh well! At least I do have good insane judgment!****

**Lightspeed Suzuka **I hope you liked this chapter and I'm glad you still think it's wonderful!

Thanks for reviewin' y'all. ^_^


	30. Backfire Part 1

"Took you long enough." Remy sneered when three men grabbed him from behind and put this black band over his hand, cuffing them together. "And after injuring over thirty men, you finally decide to attack from behind. Bravo." One man kicked him in the back and then pinned him prone to the ground.

"You think it's funny, mutant boy? Wait until you see what we do to you." 

"Can't wait. You just set the date and I'll be there for the crumpets and tea. Just remember, two scoops not three." The Cajun smirked as he was roughly brought to his knees.

"At least the other mutant was easier to capture." The guy, who had taken his facemask off earlier, said as he ran a hand through his blonde hair. 

_Other mutant? _Remy's heart skipped a beat. In the whole explosive fight he had barely broken a sweat but immediately when hearing that news, beads of sweat began popping out along his forehead. 

"Hey mutant boy, didn't you hear me? I said lets move!" A shock ran up his arms. Remy's eyes widened and he let out a small yelp. "See what happens when you don't cooperate!" The three men laughed as they dragged the Acadian to the truck. 

-----

"We can't conduct all the same ones." Trask said as he skimmed through reports on the other captured mutants. He, along with his men and the two Southern mutants, had been back at his base for about a half hour now. Wow. That's a stupid sentence but hey! It does tell you where they are. Anyway, Trask frowned like a little boy who was denied that box of animal crackers when he went to the store with his mommy. "That one mutant, the explosive one, for him we're going to conduct a different mutant."

"What about the other one, sir?" A young woman in a white lab coat asked, looking up from a chart. "She suffered a dislocated shoulder and a concussion along with various bruises and two cracked ribs." 

As if on cue, a man (there's a lot of 'a man' in this fic. You can personally and mentally name them if you want 'cause I'm not) rushed into the room. "Uh sir, we have a problem. That one mutant.."

-----

"I want to see Rogue!"

"Calm down!" The orderly ordered. Haha. Get it? Yeah. Me neither. 

"There has to be some kind of law you're breakin' for keepin' all of us here."

The man (lets name him.. Elvis) laughed. "Law _breaking_? Give me a _break_." Groan, groan; a pun. "Don't go preaching about law breaking, thief boy."

"_Moi_?" 

"Yeah, you. We have a complete system of profiles for all you mutants thanks to the computer system at that mansion." 

Remy leaned in towards Elvis. "Then you know my deepest darkest secret.. I'm going to blow your ass up if you don't let me out of here!"

Elvis sighed. It was an unhappy sigh. He unclipped his walkie-talkie off from his belt and pressed the side button. "Someone get me Trask. We'll in holding tank number eight. Tell him.."

Remy kind of drowned the baboon out as he schemed. Yes, he schemed. Remy had a plan. Or, at least, he was thinking up one. 

-----

 "I want to see Rogue." 

"We don't always get what we want."

Gambit's red eyes flickered. "You sure you want to live by those words?" 

"And what do we get if we let you see your little friend?" You know Trask, always the one for mixing pleasure with business.

"You get to live."

That only made Trask smirk. "How about we make a deal.."

-----

It was a stupid plan. Rogue would admit that much. Her plan wasn't even much better than Spyke's. She knew that with either plan, they would end up getting captured in the end. It was just a gut feeling, but as Rogue looked around the room, she knew it was more than a gut feeling. What had happened was a mere blur to her. The last thing she could remember clearly was teleporting Remy and Evan to the institute. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened after that. 

Elvis (remember!) walked into the room, carrying a plastic grey case. He placed it on the counter and took out a syringe that had a clear liquid in it. 

She watched him closely, barely noticing the fact her left arm was in a sling. "What are you doin'?" She asked, although it was obvious. I mean, what do you usually do with a syringe? Use it to baste the turkey on thanksgiving?

Elvis walked over to her and stopped by her side. He gently pushed the bottom so liquid squeezed out of the needle.

"I know you're not injectin' me with that." 

"Shush. It'll all be over soon."

"You're life will be over soon if you move another inch!" A strap around her waist, ankles and neck kept her from moving too much against the metal cot. Rogue also felt exhausted, like her brain had a _meltdown_. Like, it went _boom boom_. 

As Elvis lowered his hand, the door had just burst open and Remy just about body checked Elvis!

-----  
  
  
Minutes earlier..

"If you willingly agree to this experiment, I promise we will not harm your friend in any way." 

Why would Remy trust a man that kind of looked like Hitler when you squint to see him from a far distance?

"I want to see her. Now." He turned around, his back facing Trask. Suddenly, the black band around his wrists started to glow. "Just as a reminder.."

Trask, who looked bored, waved his hand. "Fine you can see your girlfriend."

"She ain't my girlfriend!" 

A man, lets name him Bob, walked into the room. Trask gestured Remy. "Take him to cell number C-three. The one with the injured mutant girl."

"The one with the bleached bangs?"

"Hey!" Remy barked, turning around. "That's natural!"

-----

"Get the hell off me, you stupid mutant!" Elvis yelled, dropping the syringe as Remy knocked him to the ground. 

Rogue immediately tried to sit up but the straps kept her down. Although, when she tried to jerk up, she finally realized how battered up her body was. "Remy! What the hell happened?"

"Be with you in a minute, chére." He grunted, hitting Elvis's head off the ground. "Stop strugglin'!"

Rogue rolled her eyes and tried to phase, but found herself unable to concentrate. It figured. When she really needed to use the psyches powers, for some odd reason they won't obey. 

Elvis pushed Remy off him, made a mad rush to the syringe, grabbed it and then turned around and stabbed Remy in the arm with it. He pushed down on the top of it, injecting the liquid into the Cajun's bloodstream.

-----

Kelly sat in front of a computer, lazily flipping through files on it. They were files of the experiments, and of their subjects, the mutants, along with their progress. In each file of a mutant, it had a small profile of them, with their name, codename, their power, etc. 

He could barely believe was he was reading as he skimmed down the list of powers. Being able to control the weather. To pass through walls. To teleport anywhere you desire. To shape shift into anyone in the world. To read minds, to move things with your mind. To see the future, to run at an amazing speed and to be able to propel yourself with extreme force. How was all this possible?

Ah yes, he reminded himself. With that x-gene. 

Kelly smiled, knowing that some day soon, mutants would no longer be a problem to humanity. But to do that, they would need to get the mutants in hiding. But how would they do that?

Smirking, he took out his cell phone and dialed up a number. "Hello, Spears? I have a job for you."

-----

"He attacked me!" Elvis yelled at Trask. A vein was popping out in his forehead and he had a huge red mark on the side of his face. "And you let him out of the restraints without telling me? Bob just released him in the room! I could have been killed."

"Unfortunately, you weren't." Bob muttered with a cough.

"Nothing matters anymore." Trask said, smirking without a care. "Just get someone to watch the mutant and write down any changes."

"What about the female one?" 

"Just keep an eye on her. If she gets too rowdy, sedate her. We might need her for later."

Kelly then entered the room, not looking too happy. "Guy left town. Stupid bastard thought this plan would backfire so he left."

"We don't need him. Since we already got the recipe, he has no purpose."

"But I had a plan." 

"Well, lets hear it."

-----  
  
  
_"What do you see, Destiny?"_

_"I see death."_

----  
  
  
_The rest of this part is going to be hard to write, and each part of this will probably be a bit short. I'll try to update a tad bit quicker after I finish my history project this weekend._

_Thanks for reviewin' y'all. ^_^ And there was a speck of guilty-mess, Carla-p. XP_


	31. Backfire Part 2

He was placed into a plastic holding tank with several small holes drilled into the sides. Remy sat against the plastic wall, his mind set on everything but his numb arm. 

If only he could get Rogue and then get the both of them out of this place. He knew he couldn't leave Piotr and he was still debating on Pyro. There was just something mentally wrong with that Aussie. 

"What's your name?" Elvis was standing outside the holding tank, staring down at the Cajun.

Remy get out a bitter laugh. "My name? You've seen my _file_. You should know it." 

Elvis sighed. "I know you don't like this."

"Aren't we psychic." He rolled his eyes. "Don't know how you ever figured that out. Figured you thought people liked to be experimented on." 

"I don't like it either. We were trained and told you were mutants a-and that you poisoned the gene pool." 

"Don't give me that crap."

"Killing is against the law." Right now, it was like Elvis was now talking out loud to himself. "I'm a man of law."

"You're a man who supports unusual and cruel treatment for people who aren't like you." Remy began rubbing his numb arm, which was suddenly starting to feel sore. He felt paranoid of it since that was where he had been injected with that fluid. Looking back on it now, he could have handled that situation a lot better. 

"I'm not like that. I just do as ordered."

"Then I order you to let me and my goddamn friends out of here." 

Elvis laughed as if it were a hilarious joke. "You ain't my boss, son." 

"You do realize that the _muties_ will override all of this and your ass will get diced, fried up and telekinetically kicked around, right?" 

Now, Elvis sighed. "I still don't like it."

"Yeah, gettin' beat up by a horde of mutants ain't exactly on my to do list."

"That's not what I meant." The emotion Elvis now looked down. "I don't like seein' people die, even if they are mutants."

"You saw Magneto die." Remy realized, standing up. "And then you dumped his body."

"I did more than see the guy die." Elvis admitted solemnly. "I gave him the serum." 

"Well. You're just out there to kill _everyone_, aren't you?" 

_____  
  
  


The door flew open.

Rogue rolled her eyes.

It slammed shut. 

Now, if only she could manage to undo her straps. 

When she tried to phase herself through them, a cup that was sitting on the counter fell halfway into the surface. 

_Remy. _She tried to contact him telepathically, but it was as if she never absorbed the power and couldn't communicate with the telepath psyche. _Come on, Remy. _Rogue closed her eyes tightly. _Remy!_

Nothing. __

"Shit."

_____  
  
  
  


Remy winced, falling to his knees. "Not so loud." He hissed through clenched teeth. 

"I didn't say anything." The ever so clueless Elvis said, making a face. He most likely thought Remy was hearing things now. He made a note on the chart he was holding. 

Remy ignored the idiot and closed his eyes. He concentrated on Rogue. Her creamy white skin, her green eyes. Her natural colored hair, her soft southern accent. _Rogue?  I'm here Rogue. _He opened his eyes, blinked and waited. _Rogue?_ He suddenly felt as if his heart moved up into his throat. _Rogue! _

Nothing.

"_Merde_."

_____  
  
  


He locked the door to his office, smirking to himself. He walked over to his desk, unlocked the bottom drawer and took out a gun. He simply chuckled as he loaded it.

_____  
  


It was storming outside. Lightning and thunder at their fullest. It was supposed to be a cloudless day. 

"What is she doing?" Bob asked his friend, Fred. "What's wrong with her?" He was referring to Ororo Munroe who was strapped up against a bed. He stared down at her white eyes in confusion.

"I'm not sure." Fred admitted, scratching his head. "Maybe she's blind, or she's performing some kind of trick."

Kelly walked into the room and grunted loudly. "Weather manipulation." He stated; receiving weird looks from the two nincompoops. "She can control the weather." He said, speaking slowly. "Just knock her out. Then I want you two giving Scott Summer the injection." He turned on his heel and left the room. _Never liked that kid anyway. _

Bob rolled his eyes. "Yes, Kelly, _ma'am_."

_____  
  
  
Once again, the floor flew open.

Rogue struggled to get free. _Why can't I teleport?_ She asked herself with a frustrated groan. All the struggling she did didn't help with the soreness of her body. Having one free arm and the other being held tightly against your body didn't help. Rogue closed her eyes and sighed, allowing her body to relax.

_Rogue._

Her eyes snapped open. "Remy!" 

The door slammed shut. Seconds later, a man walked in. A scowl was present on his face.

"If you don't stop, we're goin' to sedate you." He snapped, taking a heavy stop forward after slamming the door shut behind him. 

"That a threat?" She asked, straining her neck to look up at him.

"Don't get sassy with me, mutant." 

"Actually, the name is Rogue!" She narrowed her eyes at him and concentrated on him with her emotions running haywire. He flew back into the door with such force it detached from the hinges and went back into the hallway. Telekinetically, she took off her glove from her free hand and touched the strap, the one around her waist, with her bare fingertips. Small red sparks shot through the thick material. Smiling, she did the same thing to the one around her neck and finally the ones around her ankles. 

"Hey!" Two ran into the room, four more out in the hallway. "What do you think you're doin'?" 

Rogue shrugged. "I have no idea." Concentrating on Remy, she bamf'd blindly out of the room.

_____  
  
  
  


"Can't you at least go and check on her for me?"

"Nope. I have orders to follow; I cannot leave where I am stationed."

Remy sighed heavily and hit the plastic wall with his fist. "C'mon _homme_." He then continued to yell at him in French. 

"I can't."

"Yes, you _can_." Remy stressed on the 'can.' "You just _won't_." He started to feel lightheaded and dizzy, but didn't worry about it, thinking it had to do with this anger. Suddenly, he heard the familiar bamf'ing noise come from behind him. He immediately turned around only to have arms wrapped tightly around him.

"LeBeau!"

Elvis turned around. His eyes went wide as he quickly took out his walkie-talkie. "We have an escaped mutant." Short pause. "Well, not my mutant. The other mutant." He realized how ridiculous that sounded and sighed. "Just get in here, stat!" 

"Rogue, get out of here now." He ordered, breaking the embrace. "I don't want anything to happen to—" 

"Something is already h-happening to me, Remy. This—that at ain't important right now." Rogue stumbled on her words. 

"I'm sorry." Elvis said loudly to them as he walked over to a control panel on the wall. "I can't risk losing my job. I'm gassin' you." He pressed a button and a knock out gas was released into the cell. Knowing it would leak out of the holes, Elvis exited out of the room, locking the door behind him.

"We're goin' to get through this." Remy coughed as he leaned over and roughly kissed her on the mouth. 

Within seconds, they both laid unconscious in the holding tank.

Elvis re-entered the room minutes later with four other men. He shook his head at the sight. _This just isn't right._

_____  
  
  
"I want the girl under surveillance. Move her as far away from the male as possible." Kelly ordered the men. "I also want copies of all the charts to every mutant here on my desk in an hour."

"Trask ordered for those earlier." Someone piped up.

"That was him. This is me." He tapped on his watch. "You're down to fifty nine minutes now." 

"Trask also said he wanted to see you in his office."

Kelly sighed. "What doesn't that guy want? Just do as I told you, I'll be back."

_____  
  
  
Kelly walked into Trask's dark office. He walked up to the front of his desk. "Trask? I was told you wanted to see me." The chair was facing the other way. "Trask?" He turned around surprised when he heard the door shut behind him. "What the hell?" The lights switched on. He was suddenly face-to-face with Bolivar Trask. "What are you doing?"

"I don't like you. I've never liked you and that's a problem. Now that I have what I want, I'm eliminating the problem." Trask brought the 9mm gun to Kelly's forehead. "Sweet dreams." He smirked and pulled the trigger.

_____  
  
  
"About time." Fred muttered after the sound of a shot firing from a gun was heard. 

"Next could be one of us." Bob said, making a face. "But until then.."

"We're in trouble." Two other men rushed into the room. "The female mutant is missing from the tank."

Bob and Fred exchanged glances. "Uh-oh."

Well, if that wasn't the most intelligent remark ever I don't know what is.

_____  
  
  
_I couldn't sleep last night so I wrote this whole chapter from midnight until one thirty. Most of it probably doesn't make sense. ^_^; Hope that isn't too much of a problem. Everything makes sense in my head._

**Rogueforever **You want me to finish it? I want me to finish it too.

**spectra2 **Thank you. I'll try..

**serpentine013x **A B+? I give it at least a C; Mediocre. I'll try to keep it up for that gold star! ;-)

**SperryDee **Me too! But what are we gonna do about it? But they'll be free sooner or later.

**kitsu black **Chapters for this aren't going to be too long. I play it out as much as I can.. 

**Carla-p   **I doubt you got my e-mail because Yahoo! crapped out on me went I tried to send it. I answered your questions and such. Can you give me your e-mail again so I can try again later? 

**TheRogueAuthor **Just watch.. I'm so going to write that in somewhere in future chapters! ^^ 

**RoguesHeart **In a way he did save her.. ;)

**Roguechere **I noticed the same thing before I posted the last chapter. Although, I write in some corny stuff just for cheap laughs. ;)

**Ishandahalf **Nothing says 'I love you' like defending someone's hair. :P 

 **cool-chick-rae **Thanks. ^_^  
**Persona the ITG**   I noticed the rhyming part and I didn't even think of the dead part until you mentioned it. I was like HAHA it's almost a pun. Pyro would be proud! 

**Lady Farevay **Huzzah for _Aro-author-plot-story goodness! _

**Star-of-Chaos **Actually, I'm glad you said that darlin'.. ;)

If I forgot anyone, I'm sorry. Thanks for reviewin' y'all. 


	32. Backfire Part 3

Disclaimer – Just as a reminder, I still don't own X-Men: Evolution…  
  


-

If only she had super human strength. 

Rogue could fly with the telekinetic psyche, but it didn't feel the same. With her mind in frenzy she was unable to concentrate enough to pick herself up.

She easily escaped by passing through the walls, but that wouldn't saver her for long since she didn't know where she was going.

But someone who worked there would know how to get around, right? Right.

_I'm going to have to absorb someone. _It was the only way she could get information about where they were and such. 

After a while, she slowly walked around, making herself believe that the reason she stopped phasing through walls was because it increased the chance of her getting caught. Rogue was really afraid of getting herself stuck in the wall. Hey now, it is possible. Shut up, it is. She could bamf if that happened but it was obvious her powers were going haywire. If you haven't caught on to that yet.. You're just not getting this, are you? 

After meandering around, a locked door caught her attention at the end of the hall. Taking a deep breath, she phased through the door.

"Stripes?"

_____

"Are you okay?" Elvis stared down at Remy as he stirred and then opened his eyes.

Remy blinked several times. Elvis's face wasn't exactly the one he wanted to wake up to. Okay, I lied; it wasn't the one he wanted to wake up to at all. "What happened to Rogue?" He asked automatically as he glanced around the surroundings. "And why am I hooked up to a heart monitor?" What a welcoming. A heart monitor. If this went on any longer, he'd be a _grave_ man by tomorrow. 

.

"I need to keep notes on you." Elvis said, clearing his throat. "Sorry you have to be strapped to the bed, but we can't take any chances." 

"You never answered my question."

"I'll be asking the questions!" The older male suddenly snapped at him as he wrote something down on the chart he was holding. 

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Perhaps it was Jean—No, no. Can't make Jean/thong jokes. Not yet, anyway. 

"Kelly was killed."

"What happened to her?"

"_Him_. Senator Kelly." 

"Killed by a mutant?"

"No. _Trask_." He let out a loud, dinning frustrated sigh. "Just forget about it."

"Did you like Kelly?"

"No."

"Then why are you so upset about him being dead? Were you two.. _lovers_?" Remy raised his brows up and down. 

Elvis threw the chart down. "That's it. I give up." He stormed out of the room. Hah. PMS.

"That always works." Remy smirked.

_____  
  
  
"Logan." Maybe she was hallucinating.. Or dreaming. Or maybe she was just plain delirious. Oh well, they're all the same anyway. Keep your mouth shut! They are and you know it. 

Since they don't need to repeat each other's names over and over, Logan just jerked his head down, gesturing his wrists, which were locked together by a black band. "Get this off of me." He didn't want to waste anytime. 

Rogue winced as she reached out. On impulse, she clutched her injured shoulder. "I need to tap into your powers. I'll make it quick and I'll be sure not to knock you out." She said through clenched teeth.

"Did they do this to you?" Growl, growl. Grunt, grunt. Sniff, sniff. 

Rogue just blinked. No memories came to mind. "I-I don't know." 

His eyes narrowed. "Make it quick." He sniffed. "We don't have a lot of time." 

_____  
  


"Your little friend is missing."

"Eh?"

"When they went to round you up, she was gone."

Remy lifted his head up. "You _lost_ her?" The alarm suddenly started going off, the blaring sound echoed from outside the hallway. "Looks like you found her." He nodded his heard towards the door, "You better go check it out."

Elvis nodded and walked towards the door. He glanced back at the Cajun before opening the door, "Don't go anywhere."

"Don't worry about that." The second he left, Remy escaped from the straps using his powers. When he worked on getting the straps around his ankles, a more powerful shock than he intended shoot out, leaving a stinging feeling in his fingertips. He cursed in French, not caring too much about it. 

_____

  
Logan merely sliced his way through the door. Oh, how wonderful it must be to have Adamantium claws. Right. "You comin'?" He turned back, staring at Rogue who had a blank expression on her face. "Rogue?"

She blinked, but continued to stare off in space. "I'll meet up with you in a few minutes." She waited a few minutes after he left, and then walked over to the corner and sat down in it. Rogue then took off the sling and then brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly.

She stayed like that, not caring about what was happening around her.

_____  
  
  
Trask quickly shoved every paper, and every item, that was in or on his desk into a duffel bag. He had to hurry. He saw it on the surveillance cameras and knew it wouldn't be long until all the mutants would be out. They wouldn't win if they succeeded in this. Trask smirked; the war had barely begun and he still had ideas swirling around in his head. He stepped over Kelly's lifeless body as he left the office.

____  
  
  
"You sure you can walk?" Remy asked Sam as he got to his feet. 

The blonde Southerner gave him a nod, "Thank ya very much, Gambit." He took a step forward and nearly fell to the ground. "Okay, I reckon I ain't sure. Jus' give me a few minutes while ya go help the others." 

"All right." Remy patted his shoulder. "If you run into any trouble, just make a hole in the wall or something."

"Can do, sir." 

Remy grumbled something about the 'sir' part and being old as he walked out of the room, but not before grabbing Sam's charts. He dropped the papers and got ready to charge up the chart board as a just-in-case thing.

_____  
  


"Pardon me Wolvie, but would you please obtain your claws out from my neck?" Wolverine had Remy up against the wall with his forearm pressed up against his throat and his metal claws against his throat. 

"What are you doin' here, Gumbo?"

Remy grunted. "For the same reason as you, _mon ami_."   
  


Logan mumbled something and released his grip on the Cajun. "Your eyes are dilated." 

Well, wasn't Logan just so observant? Remy ignored his comment, "Where's Rogue?"   
  
  


Logan glanced behind his shoulder. "Oh shit." He inhaled deeply through his nose. "You go find her."

"Where are you going to go?" In response, Wolverine shoved him aside and walked off, making sure to walk heavily down the hallway. "Oh, _that's_ where." 

_____  
  
  


You know that feeling you get when you get off a roller coaster? A _big_, _long_, roller coaster with _a lot_ of loops? If you don't, then go spin around for oh, lets say about an hour? Okay, well, times that feeling by five and that's how Remy felt.

Well, maybe not that bad, but he felt light-headed and dizzy. His mouth had suddenly turned into the Sahara desert and his body temperature rose. 

He kept his hands on the wall as he walked down the hallway. "Rogue?" He called out, in a low voice. "I'm not in a mood to play hide-and-seek. We ain't in Kansas anymore." What the hell was he talking about? He walked into a room, groping the wall. "Rogue?"

_Remy._

He winced. "Not so loud, Ro'." Remy blinked. "Where are you? Wave white flags, or use a flare gun or something to let me know." 

"Oh yeah, 'cause I carry around a flare gun in my socks."

"Doesn't everyone?" He laughed, but then suddenly groaned as his stomach did a one eighty. He fell to his knees, starting to feel fatigue

"Are you all right?" She suddenly appeared before him, her hand was gently touching his shoulder.

"Do I look all right?" He asked, snapping. When he felt her quickly remove her hand, he allowed himself to fall back on his bum. Rogue sat down aside from him. "Sorry.. I.." When he turned his head, his eyes met hers, and instantly, he lost himself and began to stumble over words. 

"You look horrible." Rogue whispered, wiping off perspiration off his forehead.

Remy forced a smirk. "Nice to see you too." He coughed. "I need a goddamn cigarette."

"You won't be sayin' that when you have cancer."

  
"That.." He blinked, sounding breathless. "Is because I'll be too busy coughing due to my black lungs."

Almost immediately a memory of her leaning against a wall while criticizing Remy shot through her mind. She shut her eyes tightly, not wanting to live through the memories of her close relationship with Gambit. When she opened her eyes, Remy was laying limp next to her; he was unconscious. 

"Rem-Rem." She sighed lightly before blacking out.

_____  
  
  
_My dad is getting everything off his credit card, which includes the internet. Because of that, the internet will be getting shut off. I don't know when (but I have a feeling it'll be within the next few days.) which is why I'm posting this now. (I wanted it to be longer but tomorrow I might not have internet to post it.) =( I just hope that when it does get shut off, it won't be for long._


	33. Backfire Part 4

-

"Let me out of here!" Pyro pounded on the plastic walls of the holding tank he had been placed in hours earlier. "Let me out, you bloody drongos!" When the electric door opened, he slowly stepped outside. "Y'all better not be joshin' me." The clear plastic door shut behind him, and suddenly, in front of him stood Wolverine. He ran back to the cell and banged on it. "Let me back in, let me back in!" 

Wolverine grunted. "C'mon hoser. I ain't goin' to kill you. Yet. Lets just work on gettin' out of here first."

"Aww." Pyro awed. "You like me. You really like me!" 

"Just shut up and follow me—bub." Pyro shut his mouth and skipped out of the room, at Logan's heels. When they got outside, Logan came to an abrupt stop. Pyro slammed into him. "_Shh_." Logan hissed at him before the young Australian could open his mouth. 

"We have to get out of here, Fred!" Loud footsteps. Heavy panting. "Trask already flew the coop!"

"We're in a coop?"

Wolverine nudged Pyro—hard. "_Shh_!" He growled, which just made Pyro yelp. 

"Sheesh, I hope they take you first, mate." He mumbled bitterly. When he realized he opened his mouth, he sighed. "Oi. I'm goin' to kark it before I even get out of here." 

"I said shut up!" Before the two mutants knew it, they were face to face with two humans with shocked faces. The cowards yelled and then ran off. Logan shot Pyro a look. 

"What?" He asked, with innocent eyes, which soon narrowed at the Canadian. "Can we get out of here, _now_ please?" He barked in an aggravated tone of voice at Wolverine, whose brows just arched up. "Don't just stand there, move drongo!" 

"Better watch who you're snappin' at, bub."

"_Meow_." 

____  
  
  
"Thank you, Samuel." Ororo rubbed her wrists as she sat up on the metal platform. 

"No problem, Ms. Munroe." 

"I'm confused about all of this." Piotr was standing in the doorway, holding an unconscious Kitty. 

"There's not much to say, man." Ray showed up behind him, Amara next to him. "People thought they could out do mutants by capturing us and infecting us with a mutant killing virus." 

Storm cleared her throat. "Right now, we need to work on getting the others and getting out of here." 

"There's barely anyone left in here." Sam spoke up, staring down at the ground. "But I have a feelin' this ain't over yet." 

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard. Before anyone could move, something blasted through the wall. Chunks of ice were scattered around on the ground.

"Hah! I told you that if we kept going through the walls, we were bound to find them!" Bobby, along with Roberto walked through the new opening in the wall. Rahne was in her wolf form and was in Roberto's arms. Roberto rolled his eyes at Bobby's comment.

Ororo stood up. "Children, we need to find the others."

Ray just shot a look at Bobby as he stepped into the room. "I'm sure they've heard us, right Ice-_boy_?" 

"Now is not the time to—" Ororo spoke up but was cut off by Bobby.

"Yeah, Electricity-boy. And why don't you go send a spark up your—"

"Enough!" The snowplow—Weather witch yelled throwing her hands up. A thick crack of thunder could be heard from even where they were. 

"Eep." Ray hid behind a clueless Amara. 

____  
  
  
"Scott, wake up." Jean shook her bitc—lover. "This isn't funny, Scott, come on!" A glass on the counter which had popsicle sticks that doctors use to shove down your throat in it flew off and smashed against the wall. Jean had woken up from what seemed like a deep sleep minutes earlier. It didn't take her long to escape and to find her little Cyclops. Scott just mumbled something about bacon and lettuce. Haha, maybe he was dream ordering! Get it? Oh, shush. "Scott, snap out of it." And with the snap of a thong, he snapped out of it! No, actually, he didn't. But a pool of drool was starting to leak out of the side of his mouth. How attractive. Jean poked his shoulder. "Scott?" He was breathing, wasn't he? Yes, unfortunately, he was. "Scott?" Uh oh, here come the water works.

"Red?" Wolverine walked into the room, overhearing her screaming a certain Cyclop's name from down the hall. Pyro was practically attached to his arm. 

"Wow." The red head said, staring at her. "What did you do to him?" He chuckled. "Or what _didn't_ you do to him?" 

Usually, Jean probably would have tortured him senseless for several hours by dressing him up in her thongs, but instead, her eyes just got watery. Her green eyes that matched her green—never mind. No more thong jokes. Promise. "Scott isn't waking up."

Pyro scratched his chin. "Maybe that's because he's unconscious?"

_____  
  
  
"Oh man, I feel like I just got off a loopy roller coaster after five continuous rides." Kurt complained, rubbing his furry stomach. He mumbled some other things in German as Ororo helped him to his feet.

"Are you all right, Nightcrawler?" She asked, cupping his chin. "You don't look so well."

"Yeah." Bobby mumbled, running a hand through his hair. "He looks kind of blue." 

"Robert, this isn't a time for jokes." Ray said, crossing his arms over his chest. Ororo glanced over at him.

"Thank you, Raymond." Ororo turned her attention back over to Kurt. "Can you teleport?"

He said something (or just cursed) in German. "Don't you think I've tried?" 

Ray slowly brought his hands up to his face, and then brought his index fingers together. An electrical charge flew from one finger to another. He let out a small sigh of relief. 

Amara, on the other hand, let out a loud, irritated sigh. "Can we go home _now_?"

Ray's eye twitched. "Sure thing, princess." 

____  
  
  
  


"Maybe he's like sleeping beauty." Jubilee flicked the unconscious Scott in the forehead. She glanced behind her shoulder and looked at Jean. "Maybe you should pucker up and kiss him. Hey, if we're lucky he'll turn out of his stiff, boring frog—"

"You're not helping." Jean sniffed, twirling strands of red hair between her fingers. She turned to Logan. "I can't get to him telepathically. Maybe if we get back to the institution.."

"We will." Wolverine walked over and picked up Scott. He grunted as he put him over his shoulder. "We get the others, find the two Southerners, and find Chuck and we'll go." 

Jubilee, who had been found by a wandering Pyro, walked out in front of him. "If anyone attacks—"

Pyro patted her forehead. "You'll blind them." 

The Asian girl made a face. "Right."

_____  
  
  
  


Rogue laid next to Remy, her head rested on his chest and her arm sprawled out over his abdomen. Her eyes slowly opened to see that they were both still laying in the dim room. She shivered as she closed her eyes. "Remy." She mumbled, pressing the side of her face in deeper. 

"Bonkers! They look pretty cozy." Pyro piped up as he stepped into the room, the others behind him. "A Kodak moment. How sweet!" 

Jubilee blinked. "Should we wake them?"

Jean took a step forward, bent down and gently touched Rogue's shoulder. "Rogue, wake—"

"Don't touch me!" 

Pyro tsked at Jean. "That's what you get for waking her up." 

Jean shot him a look. Wow, there's a lot of that going around, isn't there? "Rogue, listen—"

Rogue immediately sat up and got to her feet. "No, _you_ listen. Something is happening and—" Once again, pushed back memories surfaced, flooding her mind. Voices, of those she had absorbed, all whispered in unison in her mind. "Stop it." She mumbled, rubbing her temples. "Shut up."

"Told you." Pyro said to Jubilee. "Schizophrenia." 

Inside of shooting Pyro a look, Rogue bamf'd out of there.

"We have no time to look for her. She'll come back." Logan said, resisting the urge to put his head through a wall. "Someone has to carry Gumbo."

"The bloke is bigger than me." Pyro put his hands up. "He'll crush your beloved Pyromaniac."

"If only." Logan huffed.

_____  
  
  
"Hank!" Ororo was surprised to see Beast walking down the dark hallway.

"Ororo! Good evening." He flashed his pearly whites at her. Yes, by pearly whites I mean his teeth. 

"What's so good about it?" Ray mumbled, scratching his nose.

"I was looking for you guys!" Hank said, continuing to smile. "Trask shut off the power, so everything is off. I do have a lot of explaining to do. But first, lets go tell the Professor you are all alright."

"Uh, Beastie?" Amara said, fiddling around with her pierced ears. "We're all not here." 

"Why couldn't Charles contact us?" Piotr asked, eyeing Hank.

"Mesmero put a mental block up in all of you."

"Who-mero?" Roberto asked, raising a brow.

"I'll explain later."

"But we're missing—" Ororo was cut off when Logan and the others appeared. The short Canadian had someone thrown over his shoulder while Jean was telekinetically holding an unconscious Gambit. 

Pyro rubbed his chin. "This was all too easy."

"Shut up and don't jinx us. You can do that when we're back at the institute." Jubilee instructed.

_____  
  


"What on earth?" Rogue looked around in the room she had teleported in. 

"Hello Rogue."

_____

  
  
Woo! I wrote this in several hours due to the fact my time is running up. By the way, I talked to my dad, and when my internet is turned off, he said it'd only be for a few weeks. =\ WEEKS. Better than months, no? 

Sorry for a sucky chapter (sucky = no Rogue/Remy interaction) but the next chapter will definitely have some. I expect there to be 35 chapters.   
  
  



	34. Adieu Part 1

ooo

"Professor?" The light shined off his head, nearly blinding her the second she turned around. For some reason, whenever she saw him, the Star Trek theme song played in her head. He was sitting in a chair, in a large room. Wouldn't it have been funny if I wrote he was standing? No? Shut up. 

"How are you Rogue?"

"You're a telepath." How blunt. How true. Why bother asking when you can just do that telepath thing telepaths do. "You tell me." She crossed her arms against her chest, as if that were to seal the deal. God, I'm not making any sense whatsoever. 

"Let me clear your mind."

"You want to cleanse my mind?" Rogue asked, scrunching up her nose at the thought. Suddenly, the Star Trek theme music faded out and a commercial for Mister Clean faded in. 

Charles cleared his throat. "Your mind is a mess, Rogue." He says peoples name a lot. Especially when they're the only two people in the room. "Trust me."

"Trust you when you say my mind is messed up?" The Southerner raised a brow. "I don't need to _trust you_, Prof. I _believe you_." 

He smiled like he just won the lottery. Actually, it was one of his grandfather smiles where he looks all choked up and teary eyed. Like we don't get enough of that. 

Rogue then reached up and rubbed her eyes. "Ugh, eyelash." Okay, that really ruined the sappy moment. Oh, darn.

ooo  
  
"What the hell?"

Jean let out a loud gasp and dropped Remy. "You're up!" Ms. Captain Obvious pointed out, just in case no one noticed.

"Whoa!" Pyro jumped about ten feet into the air. Not literally, but he did grab a hold of Jean. "It's 'Night of The Living Cajun!'" 

Remy just rubbed his head as Beast helped him to his feet. "Who was the idiot who let Flamethrower-boy out of his cage?"

Pyro's eyes went wide. Piotr rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming. "Remy LeBeau! You know not to mention 'er name in front of me.." The pyromaniac's eyes watered up.

He was simply ignored.

"That idiot was me." Wolverine snapped, walking forward. "Unless you want to hold Scott there, I advise you to keep walkin', Gumbo."

"Missed you too, _Wolvie cher_." Just for the record, Remy shut up and did as advised. He barely had enough strength to carry himself. 

"You all right, mate?" Pyro asked in a low turn and a solemn face as he walked up besides the Cajun. 

"Yeah, sure." He didn't sound certain. 

Pyro just eyed him, and a knowing look flicked in his dark green eyes.

ooo

"He's close." Rogue's eyes closed briefly after fluttering momentarily. 

"Gambit?" She nodded. "It isn't a good idea to use your telepath psyche and—"

"I'm not." Rogue cut him off sharply. "I've always been able to sense him. It's like.. ESP." She glanced down at the ground, a light brush creping up on her cheeks. "I've always felt connected to him." Then she realized who she was talking to. Okay, where was a rock she could crawl under and die? Okay, maybe not die. How about loiter? That sounds good. Maybe she'll get a fine too. 

Suddenly, before Rogue could say anything else, the door flew open and the horde of mutants walked in, all talking at once. 

Rogue had never seen such a happy Professor Xavier. He seemed to beam at his students, and uh, well, Storm, Wolverine and the Beast. She did bite down on her bottom lip, wondering when was a good time to tell Ororo that her nephew is dead. She debated to just get Gambit tell her. Speaking of Gambit..

The second the ragin' Cajun saw her, he pulled her into a tight hug, and whispered into her ear, "How are you feelin'?" 

"I should be askin' you that." She mumbled, breaking the embrace. "That stuff you were injected with."

"Shh." He placed a gloved finger over her lips.

Amara rolled her eyes. "Can we get on with this?"

Pyro flipped back his invisible mane of hair. "Yeah, like, fo sho." In response, Amara stuck her tongue out at him.

Hank cleared his throat. "There are some things I need to explain to you guys."

"You can explain to us back at the institute." Ororo said calmly. "I think it is better if we go home." 

"What are we going to do with this place?" Wolverine asked with a whiff, a grunt and whatever other noises the deranged mutant could make. 

Gambit smirked. "We get rid of it." He squeezed Rogue's shoulder. "And dispose of everything in it."

_Dispose_? Oh la la. Our little Remy has been learning some new vocabulary words. Gulf clap, please.

Xavier and Hank just exchanged glances.

"There's something most of you don't know about." The Professor began, making a steeple with his hands. "As you recall, Magneto was found dead.."

ooo  
  
"You mean several of us were infected with some kind of virus that kills us?" Ray asked, making an incredulous face. "That's jacked up!"

Kitty stirred from her position in Piotr's arms. "Ugh, not so loud Bobby."

Ray just raised his brows. Bobby coughed; no one dared to correct her. Not yet, at least. 

"Isn't this stuff only supposed to happen in movies?" Bobby asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Pyro gladly answered that. "Well, movies, television and fanfiction."      

"Fanfiction? What's that?"

"It's a fan's fictional story for a television show." He answered in his best know-it-all voice, and for the Pyromaniac, that was a new thing. "Like, for instance, fans of the show _Y-Men_, write fanfiction for the show. There's this cool character named—"

Rogue cleared her throat, quite loudly. "You can tell us all about it later, Pyro." 

"Really?"

"No."

"Alrighty then, _Super-Absorbent girl_!" 

Rogue moved forward but Remy stopped her by wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her tightly against his side. "Not now. Get him when he's asleep." 

The Professor ignored them. He ignored his students a lot. "Right now, our main concern is getting all of you tested. We don't know how long the virus has until it takes full effect."

"In other words, one of us can drop dead in.. two minutes?" Bobby asked, scratching the back of his head. "Doesn't sound fair. Whatever happened to 'you have six months to live.'"

Amara, on the other hand, wailed. "I'm too young and pretty to die!" She flipped her hair back.

"Hey." Ray squinted at her ears. "When did you get your ears pierced?"

ooo  
  
"Remy, this is the place where we tracked down the others the night they were abducted." Rogue mumbled as they stepped out of the warehouse.   
  
"How were we supposed to know there was an underground place below it?" He mumbled, placing a hand on her lower back as he walked up besides her. "Don't worry about it. Soon you'll be back at the institute and it'll be like nothin' ever happened."   
  
Lies. His words went through one ear and out another. "How are ya feelin'?" She asked, leaning her head in towards his.   
  
In response, he kissed the top of her head and they both remained silent as they followed the others.  
  
ooo


	35. Adieu Part 2

  
  
--  
  
The institute had never sounded so quiet, well, with a house full of mutants it never had.   
  
Rogue was laying in a bathtub full of water and bubbles. She had her bathrobe all scrunched up and placed behind her head, which was resting against the back of the tub. She stared up at the ceiling, which seemed miles away.   
  
"Unbelievable." The whispered word seemed to echo in the large rest room. She breathed in sharply and shut her eyes tightly as she slowly slid down the back of the tub. Her head went through the bubbles and submerged into the water while her knees stuck out with suds slowly dripping down them.   
  
--  
  
"Piotr!" Pyro dived right off the examine table and grabbed onto Piotr's legs right as Hank came over for a blood sample. "You can't let 'im do it mate, you can't let the bloke stick me with a needle! Y'all can't treat me like a crim! Oh, where is the love?"   
  
Ray's eye twitched as he stared down at the hysterical Australian. "Why don't you just kick him off or something?"    
  
Hank just sighed; he wasn't in the mood to deal with this. "John, if you calm down and allow me to take a small blood sample, I'll give you a lollipop." Hey, it worked with the three year olds.   
  
Ray, on the other hand, wasn't as patient as Hank. "How about we just let him die?"  
  
Pyro immediately got to his feet and glared at Ray. "You just wait, you fruit loop! When I get a lighter, you're goin' to feel the heat of Pyro! In the meantime, you're lucky I don't shove Vegemite down your bloody throat!"   
  
Piotr just exchanged glances with Hank. "You would not happen to have any sedatives, would you?"   
  
--

Rogue opened her eyes under the water. All she could see was white, due to the white bubbles and the white bathtub. Her pulse quickened at the lack of oxygen, but she felt so at peace. Long seconds seemed too past, it was almost as if time had stopped. She didn't even realize what she was doing until two hands roughly grabbed her and pulled her up by her frail shoulders. Rogue sat up, jerking out of the person's grip with a muffled yell of surprise as she coughed and rubbed the suds out of her red eyes.   
  
"You all right, Ro'?" The familiar voice lathered in a Cajun accent had asked ever so softly. She then felt him brush wet strands of her multicolored hair out from her face.   
  
Rogue just turned her head and stared at him. She blinked several times, feeling lightheaded as droplets of water dripped down her face, back and shoulders into the bath water. She insecurely wrapped her arms around her chest. Although her face was turned to look at him, her eyes stared down. Remy then reached over with his gloved hand and gently stroked the side of her damp face.   
  
"Aren't you supposed to be in the medical wing? Hank wants a sample from _all_ of us."   
  
"I'm fine." She whispered, slowly parting her pale lips.  
  
"This water is freezin'." Remy said with a soft grunt as he got to his feet. He walked over to the sink where a pink towel had been placed, and picked it up. He walked back over to the tub and stopped when his toes stubbed themselves against the slide of the bathtub. "C'mon, lets get you out of here."   
  
Rogue didn't move a muscle. "The Professor put some kind of mental block up in my head so I can't use my absorbed powers. He doesn't think I can control 'em anymore."

"Do you think you can?" He bent down, reached into the water and pulled out the plug so the water could drain.   
  
"I don't know. I saw the big hole in the wall that I made in the front entrance. The Professor said I made it when I absorbed Cyclops." Rogue glanced up at him. "I don't remember absorbing him."   
  
"You need some rest." By now, the water had been drained and bubbles surrounded Rogue. "Now, _come on_." There was an impatient strain on his words. He almost seemed upset about something, and he knew Rogue could feel it. Her eyes locked on his.

"I don't want to lose you."   
  
--  
  
"So." Piotr was sitting on a chair while Pyro sat on the ground, happily licking a swirled colored lollipop. Hey now, Hank wasn't the kind of person to bribe and not keep the promise. "How do you test the blood samples for the virus?"  
  
"It's quite easily." Hank started explaining stuff to him about the X-gene and how the virus effects it. "So, if the X-gene is responding and not damaged, it hasn't been infected with the virus." He sighed softly, and scratched the back of his neck with his large hand. Hey, you know what they say about big hands right? "While we were there, Mesmero was supposed to take over my mind and make me make the chemicals to the mutant killing virus, but the good ol' chap told me what they wanted me to do, so I pretended to have my mind taken over."  
  
"Everything up until what you had been doing isn't the real virus then?" Piotr asked feeling slightly relieved.  
  
Hank slowly nodded. "Yes, but I don't know how much they used of my faulty virus. For all I know, they had a good enough stock and.." He shook his head. "I don't want to think about it. Now, if you don't mind, I have some testing to do."   
  
"Of course." The Russian got to his feet and gently tapped his thigh with his hand. "Come, John." If he knew how to whistle, he would have whistled.   
  
Pyro got to his feet and gave Hank a pat on the back with his sticky hand. "Good luck to ya!" When he retracted his hand and saw blue hairs stuck to his palm and fingers, he gave Hank a disgusted look and then walked over to the door and shot him another disgusted look before leaving.   
  
Hank sighed. "How does he even tie his shoes in the morning?"  
  
"Usually Remy does it for him." Piotr said on his way out, leaving Hank to wonder if he was serious or not.  
  
--  
  
"Everything will be all right." In Rogue's room, Remy and Rogue stood next facing each other. Remy had his hand placed on her waist, trying to reassure her. Rogue was too busy trying to keep her towel on to even bother listening to him.   
  
"When you can see the future, you can tell me that, all right?" Rogue's cheeks were flushed. Her wet hair was a tangled mess and yet, Remy never thought she looked more beautiful wrapped in a small pink towel.   
  
"You don't trust me?" He pondered with a teasing smirk as he placed his hand on the other side of her waist and pulled her tightly against him. "You should know you can trust me. We used to be friends, remember?"

"Rem-Rem, we've always been friends." It wasn't a complete lie. They just had a few hard times. Oh, you know, the whole 'latent powers arising to the surface and joining opposite teams' hard times.  
  
"Really? Maybe I've been lookin' at the glass half empty then." His hand trailed up to where a corner of the towel was tucked in to keep the towel in place and pulled it out. He half expected Rogue to slap him but their eyes ever left one another's. He took a small step back and allowed the towel to fall to her feet. He sucked his breath in. "Hey, when did you take out the navel piercing?"   
  
Rogue just touched her navel as she glanced down at it. There was a mark where the closing hole was. "I have no idea. Must've phased it out."

Suddenly, it was as if someone turned on the light bulb in Rogue's head; She was standing in front of Remy.. naked.

--   
  
"I need a cigarette." Amara was laying rolled up in a ball on her bed. Ray was sitting on the edge. He had came up several minutes ago wanting to look 'Vegemite' on Amara's computer since his was still in pieces.

"You don't smoke." He mumbled, glancing over at Rhane and Roberto who looked pretty comfy sitting next to each other.   
  
"But if I did, I would." Amara mumbled, straightening out to kick him. She succeeded and he fell off the bed.   
  
Kurt, who didn't want to be alone, was hanging from the light fixture in the room. "Why would you want to smoke, anyway? You don't need charcoal lungs. Smoking is very bad for you."  
  
And that kiddies, was the lesson for today.  
  
"Yeah, well, you leave a puff of smoke whenever you teleport." Amara shot at him. "What does that say about you?"  
  
"That I leave a puff of smoke behind when I teleport?" Kurt tried, not fully comprehending what she had said. Then again, Amara wasn't even sure what she had meant by it.   
  
--  
  
"You mean a lot to me." Remy cupped Rogue's cheek as he glazed into her eyes. She seemed mesmerized by him. If drool had started dripping down her chin, you'd think he was Mesmero. Get it? Mesmerized, Mesmero? Oh, shut up. "You always have."  
  
"You've always had a way with words." Rogue mumbled, her tongue feeling numb as his hand trailed down her neck and rested at the side of her breast. "Somethin' happened, Rem. Stop ignoring it."  
  
"I ain't ignoring anything." His vision blurred, and he quickly tried to blink it away. Before he knew it, there were three hovering Rogue's in front of him. "_Dieu_. Stand still."

Rogue jerked away from him and pulled her sheet off her bed and wrapped it around herself. "You're not funny, Remy. You're scaring me."

"I love you, Ro'." He whispered, grabbing her harshly. The tan color seemed to drain from his face as he pulled her into a tight hug. He then softly kissed the side of her mouth and then proceeded to pass out.   
  
Oh, damn.

--


	36. Adieu Part 3

--

"You don't have to tell me the results. I already know them." Rogue was sitting in Hank's office with the lights turned off. She had changed into a mere sweatshirt and pants. She had pulled up all of her hair into a ponytail, not caring how weird her white fringes looked pulled back. "I was there when he was injected with it." Rogue stared at the wall with a black expression on her face. Suddenly, a cold laugh escaped her raw lips. "Too bad I couldn't help him. I was a little _tied_ up at the moment."   
  
"I'm making a cure for it, Rogue." An emotion seemed to flicker in her eyes at his verified comment. Hank felt at a loss of words, not wanting to say too much or too little.   
  
"The ones who were infected with the virus are going to be your guinea pigs?" Rogue asked, scrunching up her nose at the thought of it. "You do that, Mr. McCoy. Hopefully you just won't kill anyone in the process." Her eyes roamed the room before settling on his slightly shocked ones. "So, who has it?"   
  
Hank took a deep breath. "Why don't you go get some sleep?" He suggested, not wanting to talk about any of this now. "The Professor does want you to have a check up tomorrow morning."  
  
"I want my old life back but that's never goin' to happen. Things were easier before I sucked the life out of someone." She got up and walked passed Hank, who gently grabbed her shoulder.

"Do you need to talk to someone?"  
  
"The 'someone' I want to talk to is dying." She shot at him, jerking her shoulder out from under his large hand.  
  
"I will find a cure."  
  
"Before it's too late?" Rogue asked in a soft voice as she glared at him, daggers practically shooting from her eyes. "You better start workin' on it then. And you never told me who was infected. If you don't wish to, I have other ways of gathering information."  
  
"Charles says it is not a good idea to use your powers." Hank admonished, feeling perplexed at her sudden attitude. He felt like wrapping his long arms around her and hugging her and no, he's not a pedophile.

"Who said I was going to use my powers?" Rogue asked, wrapping her arms around herself. "I _do_ have other ways of gathering information."

"Scott. Kitty. Kurt. Remy. And I still have to do your test." He felt a twinge of guilt for mentioning the Cajun's name when Rogue had flinched. "Please, just let me run a test just to make sure."  
  
"If you want a blood sample from me, you'll need a warrant." She mumbled a 'good luck' at him before turning on her heel and leaving without saying another word.   
  
--

A hysterical Jean sat on a chair outside the medical wing. Her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was runny and red. Best of all, you could see brown roots growing in. What? You thought her hair was naturally that red? Hah. She was startled when the door flew open and Rogue walked out in a hurry.

"Rogue?" Jean called out in a shaky voice as she blew her nose with a Kleenex.

Rogue stopped at the elevator. She studied the 'up' button as she reached out to press it. "Yeah?"

"How are you holding up? This is pretty awful, isn't it?"

"Awful? Aw, shucks no. This is the greatest thing that has ever _happened_."  By then end of her sentence, she practically yelled the last word. "How do you think I'm holding up, Jean? My best friend is in there dyin' and there ain't nothin' I can do."

"Scott is in there, too, Rogue. You're not the only one, you know? I just never knew you considered Kitty to be your best friend."

"Kitty?" Rogue muttered, staring out blankly as the elevator door opened. She had forgotten about Kitty, Scott, and Kurt. Her heart and her mind were only set on Remy. "I don't even know what to do."

"Running away isn't helping." Jean admonished with a loud, irritating sniffle. She then dabbed her eyes with the Kleenex she used to blow her nose. Hey, you're not as clean as you look. Use Dial.

"I ain't runnin' away."

"Then where were you off to in a hurry?"

"To go brush my teeth, perhaps." Rogue mumbled, turning on her heel. She just sighed, feeling defeated as she leaned against the wall. "Why are you out here when one eye wonder boy is in there? Then again, I don't think the guy wants you slobbering all over him while he's unconscious."

"How can you be so sarcastic and mean at a time like this?"

"Sugah, did ya forget? I'm not _the Rogue_ because it's a pretty word."

Jean just stared down at the ground. "You're not worried about Kitty, are you? It's Gambit, isn't it?"

Rogue slid down the wall with her knees brought up to her chest. She hugged them tightly, resting her chin in the space between her knees. "I'm not in the mood, Jean. But out and leave me alone."

In response Jean just wailed, "Scott!"

Rogue silently wished Jean had been infected with the virus too. It wasn't a nice thought, but it's not like you aren't thinking the same thing.

--

"Bonkers! He looks dead." Pyro poked his Cajun friend who was laying in the hospital bed. "Is he dead, mate?" He poked Remy again. 

"No." Piotr said, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Comrade, how about we let Gambit rest?"

Pyro nodded as he bit down on his lower lip. "Piotr?"

"Yes, John?"

"Do I have _problems_?" He sounded like a little child as he turned and stared at Piotr with his wide, dark green eyes.

"No, you're just special. Really special." Remy groaned. Pyro screamed, jumped in the air and then grabbed a hold of Piotr.

"It's alive!" The pyromaniac shrieked.

--   
  
"How do you feel, Remy?" Hank asked feeling astonished that Remy had woken up.

"Like a truck ran over me. Went into reverse and did it again." He answered, mumbling a few other things. "Where's Rogue?"

"I'll go get 'er!" Pyro volunteered, skipping out of the room. Piotr sighed and followed him out.

"I will help him get her."

--   
  
"Hey Roguey, your boyfriend wants you!" Pyro walked outside the medical wing to see a gloomy looking Jean and an expressionless Rogue. "Wow. Who died?"

"Not the best choice of words." Rogue said, shooting him a look. He didn't seem too affected by his own words. She then wiped her sweaty palms on her pants as she stretched out her legs. She brought her hand to her mouth and nibbled on her nails. Suddenly, she was on her feet. "Wait, did you say _boyfriend_?"

"No, I said your uncle's monkey."

Piotr cleared his throat. "Gambit has woken up. Hank is in the room with him now."

And with a blink of an eye, Rogue rushed past them and into the medical wing.

"Geesh. At the rate she was running, you'd think there was a Marilyn Manson CD discount in there." Pyro mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

Now it was Piotr's turn to scratch the back of his head. "Who's Marilyn Manson?"

-- 

"Remy!" Rogue immediately hugged the beloved ragin' Cajun who looked on the pale side. "How are ya feelin'?"

"Weak." He answered, staring at her with some disappointment in his eyes; she was no longer wrapped in a towel or standing in front of him not wrapped in the towel. Bummer.

"That is because your immune system is weakening so your body doesn't fight off the virus." Hank said, clearing his throat as he stood up.

"You're not helpin', you know that?" Remy shot at him, wanting some alone time with Rogue.

"I'll excuse your crankyness."

"Why don't you excuse _yourself_?"

"I can take a hint."

"Then why don't you and leave."

Rogue arched up her brows as she reached over and gently touched the side of Remy's face. "You really are cranky, aren't you?" When she heard the door close, she gave him a weak smile. "You really scared me. It's not everyday a guy kisses me, tells me he loves me and then passes out."

"What can I say? I like to be original."

Rogue sat down on the side of the bed and chuckled. A certain sadness still clung to her heart knowing she could lose him. There was no way she was going to let him go.

"If I ever see Trask again, I'm going to beat the living shit out of him."

"Whatever happened to your girl scout ways?"

"Whatever happened to you moaning over your ex-fiancée who broke your heart?"

"With no one to bring her up, I didn't have to."

"Do you want me to call your father and tell him you ate some bad shrimp and need to see him?"

"I don't need to see him." He reached up, grabbed her shoulder and pulled her down, towards him. "I just need to see you."

"Isn't that what you're doin' now?"

"I'm glad you're all sarcastic and happy. Want to be the host of the after party for my funeral?"

Rogue jerked away from him and got to her feet. "Screw you, LeBeau."

"What?" He asked, shrugging his shoulders. "You mean you don't want to? On the hosting _and_ the screwing part." 

Rogue just stared at him. For the first time he just seemed like a little boy laying there. She didn't realize how gaunt he looked, or how tired. Her eyes burned with unshed tears.

Remy could feel a lump forming in his throat. "Rogue.." Part of him knew his words were hurtful and that he shouldn't say them but his other half said it anyway. Flashbacks occurred in his mind, remembering how if he didn't take that injection, Rogue would have gotten it. His vision blurred and he thought it was another effect of the virus but it wasn't. It was from the tears building up in his eyes. "_Merde_. I'm gettin' all hormonal. If I start wailin' over a crack in the ceiling, please bash my head in." It was meant as a joke, but Rogue didn't laugh. "We're goin' through changes, Rogue. Don't hold onto the past." He expected her to say, 'eat shit and die,' but she just remained silent and left the room. After a few seconds, she came back and stood in the doorway.

"When all of this is over, you're goin' on the patch. I don't want you smokin' anymore and that's an order. Now excuse me while I go cut the filters off your cigarettes."

He knew he could always depend on Rogue.

--  
  
"What're ya doin'?" Rogue stood in the doorway of Hank's small lab. He was wearing safety goggles and was mixing chemicals. He had test tubes, some full of liquids and some empty, a test tube rack, beakers, two graduate cylinders, a burner and a telescope set in front of him, scattered about on the lab table.

"Could you do me a favor? Put a 'do not disturb' sign on the door outside?"

"Can do, Mr. McCoy." Rogue said with a small smile. "I can take a hint, too."

--

"Get me the hell out of here." Rogue was sitting in a chair in Remy's room, doodling in a notebook. She had been quiet the hour she was in there and barely said anything. "_Rogue_."

"Rest before you croak." She stated sharply, shoving the pencil and notebook off her lap.

"You're upset."

"And you don't even know why, Remy. I—" She was cut off when the door flew open and a teary Jean hurried into the room. She turned to Rogue and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the seat. "I'll be back, I think." Rogue said to Remy as Jean pulled her out of the room, shutting the door behind her. "Sheesh, what's your—"

"Rogue.. Kitty just flat lined. It was.." Jean's words just seemed to fade out as Rogue's eyed widened.

Hopefully it just wasn't too late for Hank to make up an antibiotic to work against the virus.

--


	37. Adieu Part 4

--

She sat at the side of the bed, hanging over him with her chin gently touching the side of his head. With one arm wrapped loosely around his shoulders for support, she traced patterns on his bare chest with her free hand.

They were both quiet, and barely had said anything since she walked into his room only hours earlier.

He easily sensed something was wrong. The Cajun closed his eyes, focusing on Rogue. She was like an emotion wreck on the inside but that didn't stop him from knowing something other than him was bothering her. She was keeping something from him.

"Rem?" He heard her call softly minutes later. When he tried to respond, he realized how numb his body felt. Remy felt waves of pain and panic ripple through him but it seemed to vanish as he sunk deeper into the darkness. He felt as if he were hanging by one string. One string was holding him from plunging into the deepest part of the numbing darkness.

One string full of hope, full of light; a puny thin string kept him from the other side where the grass wasn't always greener.

Remy blinked several times, trying to comprehend on what was happening to him.

"Remy!" The scream echoed and faded in the black sea. "Remy." A hopeful whisper; his eyes widened.

Rogue was the string. She was the balance keeping him from dying. He felt pangs of pain as the feeling came back to his body, ever so slowly.

"Rogue." He whispered, feeling a painful jerk. Red lightning flashed from above. He stared up to see a small, green fading light in the dark mist. "Rogue!"

--

Beep.. Beep.. Beep..

White.

That was what he saw.

White.

He was staring at the ceiling.

Beep.. Beep.. Beep..

He sat up quickly, only to see Rogue sitting in a chair, in a ball, sleeping. He glanced up at the clock to see it was now well after two in the morning. When did that happen?

Well, time doesn't stop for anyone.

He laid back down, not taking his eyes off the sleeping Southerner.

"Remy." Hank whispered from the doorway of the room. "You're awake." He sounded both startled and surprised by the words as he quickly walked over to his bedside. "How do you feel?"

"What happened?" He asked in a hushed voice, nodding over to Rogue. He avoided the 'how you feel' question seeing as how Hank was supposedly a genius and should know how someone infected with a killing virus felt.

"You slipped into a coma."

He arched a brow in disbelief. "A coma?"

"Two days ago." Hank explained with a nod, "We were worried about you. Since Kitty, I've been even more determined to find out how to skip this retched virus."

"Since Kitty?" Remy repeated, shaking his head. "What does that mean?" By the look in Hank's eyes, he already knew. "Merde. I knew somethin' was botherin' Rogue."

"Oh?" Hank said, raising his furry brows. "You've talked to Rogue since you woke up? Rogue found out before you slipped into the coma. When she came back from learning about Kitty, she found you asleep and just thought.." When he saw Remy relax from possible boredom, he chuckled, "You need your rest. I'll leave. I have a lab to get back to anyway.."

But by now, to Remy, Hank was already thousands of miles away as he stared over at Rogue.

--

"Ugh." Rogue groaned as she stretched out on the chair and fell out of it. "Remy?" Her eyes widened when she stood up to see Remy sitting at the edge of the bed, clothed in his usual clothing, putting on his boots. "You're up.. where are you goin'?"

"Need some cards. Not cheap ones either. And a pack of cigarettes before you put patches all over my body."

"You can't go anywhere, you're dyin'."

"Think it'll get me a discount?"

"How can ya say somethin' like that?" She asked softly as she wrapped her arms around her frail self.

"Think sayin' 'the evil killing virus inside of me made me say/do it' will get me off the hook?"

"Go rob a bank and tell me how it works out."

He smirked, although it wasn't a happy or amused smirk and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're pissed off at me."

"Damn right I am! You're not smokin' anything, an' you're not leavin' this room. Now sit your ass down before I sit it down for you."

"Is that so?" He asked, cocking a brow at her. His arms soon unfolded and relaxed by his sides as Rogue walked up to him. Since he was a good five inches taller, he stared down at her, their eyes met.

"You really wanna try me, LeBeau?" Rogue asked in a cold, warning voice. If she had used this tone with anyone else, they would've flinched, or said 'no, not really' but Remy just leaned in and licked his lips.

"Maybe."

"I'd like to take several blood samples if that's.. am I interrupting something?" Hank asked walking into the room with a chart.

"Yes." Remy stated rolling his eyes while Rogue shot him a look.

"No."

Hank did manage to get two blood samples from the cranky Cajun who tried to bite him. Rogue had slapped the back of his head and told him to behave or else John would be his roommate. Oh, that shut him up. Shut him up, indeed.

"Was that so hard?" Hank asked, bemused of Remy's sudden behavior. Before the cocky ragin' Cajun could respond with a remark, Hank had added, "Because you know, we could always check your temperature. The way they did when you were an infant."

"He's been through enough Hank." Rogue patted the top of Remy's head. "Now he's just goin' to stay here, relax and eat some frozen peas an' processed turkey smothered in fat free, salt free gravy."

"Really?" Remy asked, wrapping an arm around her waist. "'Cause I could use some gumbo. Spoon fed by nurse Rogue."

Hank smiled. "I could get you some cherry jell-o!"

Remy responded with fake, sarcastic enthusiasm. "Ooh, really? Now I can die a happy man!"

"Hank, do me a favor." Rogue said monotone. "Go through Mr. Happy-fulfilled-with-jell-o's trench coat, every pocket please, and dispose of any cigarettes. There's a secret pocket he added on the inside of the sleeve, so check there too."

"Geesh Rogue, you might as well tell 'im to check my boots!"

"Oh yeah, those too."

Hank just laughed. He surely was a crazy old, fuzzy, blue brute. "I'll be back in a few hours. And Gambit, I advise you take off those boots because you're not going anywhere. It's not like you'll get any kind of discount for being in your state of well being."

"Hah!" Rogue stated, smiling as she leaned her head against his.

"You're a funny man, Hank. A real funny one. Who's about to get blown up!"

"Someone needs a nap." Hank winked at them before leaving the room.

Remy made a face. "I don't like him. He nearly punctured my whole arm when stickin' me with the damn needle."

"Sugah, that's because you jumped up two feet."

"It hurt."

"If I could change situations with you, I would."

"Rogue, if we switched situations, I'd say the same thing. And I'd mean it."

"You're such a sweet talker." She couldn't help but to feel touched by what she said. Hello, she read romance novels. No wonder she felt so touched. It was like a romance novel slash soap opera.

"Must be the morphine."

"Yeah, must be." They both ignored the fact Remy hadn't had any morphine.

--  

"Do you have any fours? I can't believe you didn't trust me."

Rogue handed Remy a card. The two Southerners sat across from each other on his bed. "You said you wanted playin' cards an' I got 'em. Do you have any aces?"

"Go fish. Jean stood in the doorway for a half hour blowin' her nose into the same Kleenex. She kept goin' on about her happy moments wit' Scooter. I wanted to hang myself."

She picked up a card from the pile and made a face at it as she added it to her deck. "It was either that or I put a harness on you and used a leash to take you to the store with me."

"Kinky. Got any queens?"

Rogue rolled her eyes and then threw her remaining cards at him. "You're gonna win anyway."

"For some reason, in all the card games I pay with people, they end up sayin' that before the game is even half way over."

"Aren't we unassumin'."        

"Assumin' what?"

She sighed, "Nothin'. Bein' in here with you so long makes me crave a cigarette."

"They cause cancer." He stated matter-of-factly. "If I ever see one in your pretty little hands, I'm goin' to cut off your pretty little fingers." Oh, the irony.

"Ooh, I love it when you talk dirty." She laughed, not taking him serious. Although, he was serious he would never do it. He had other ideas for her hands. Heh.

"When do I get my goddamn sponge bath?" Remy asked, wiggling his brows at her.

"Well, now." Rogue slid off the bed and walked over to the spot besides him. "I'll go get Jean."

"Not funny."

"I thought it was. You're well enough to take a shower."

"But I could slip and fall in the shower. It's better if someone I trust is in there with me." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down. "What do you say?"

"I'll go find John?" She suggested, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Nah. John an' I only do that on Sunday nights."

"Okay, now that was disturbin'." Rogue stated, making a face. "I don't think I can ever look at you the same again."

"Guess I'll have to change the way you see me, eh?" When she felt his hands brush against her sides, she let out a short squeal and jumped off the bed. He immediately got up and chased her around the small room. It wasn't long until he had her pinned up against the wall. "Uncle?"

"Fine, Uncle."

"What about mercy?"

"Screw you."

"Ah, you want to screw me? Against the wall, perhaps? Looks like we reversed situations then."

"Sure looks like it. Too bad there's somethin' preventin' on the screwin'."

Remy smiled as he leaned his head in towards her. "It's so cute when you say 'screwin'. An' as far as I'm concerned.." His lips ever so lightly brushed against her. When he looked up, he stared into her widened green eyes. "What's the matter?" He asked, his voice no higher than a whisper as he greedily captured her lips with his.

--

"This is.." Hank sighed, leaning against a wall in his lab. "So confusing."

"What is?" Jean asked, glancing over at him. She had been glancing down into a telescope. Although her eyes were red, she didn't look as bad as before.

"Gambit." Hank answered, his left eye twitching. "It seems the virus serum had effected him but not in the ways of the others.. check out the blood samples taken from the four victims. This is all so confusing."

"But what does it mean?"

"Frankly, I do not know, but I will find out."

--

I'm gonna be a bit busy this week and next but I'll try to update this by the end of next week and for 'Replaced' I'll try to finish soon. :) TRY being the keyword.

Star-of-Chaos - Yep. Apparently someone barked up the wrong tree. Eh, ignore that. I'm half asleep..

Kitsu Lebeau - Nope. Kitty = dead. Exactly.. screw Kitty.. worry about Remy. 3

ishandahalf - Yes! Remy is the important one. By killing Kitty I wanted to point out that if Kitty can die, so can Remy.

Rogue14 - Kitty's dead. And I don't bring people back. Guess she meowed for the last time.

ASGT - You pretty much got my point.. cookie for you!

RoguesHeart - I could never flatline Remy.. or could I?

SperryDee - Yes.. Poor Kitty.. :(

cool-chick-rae - Today, my friend told me I should kill off Jean instead of Scott. I looked at her and said, "she's going to kill herself." I don't think anyone would cry over that. Unless they're a Jott fan.

Tempete  - I'm glad ya love it! How about now? NOW can you not wait to see what happens next? ;)

spectra2 - Don't worry about the language. I hear worse just in the hallways at school. :P Thanks.

Roguechere - I think that commerical was playing for the billionth time that day when I wrote it. I don't even use Dial which I think is ironic.. Wouldn't it be cool if we could get paid for advertising in stories? Ah, one could only dream..

Rogue4787 - Your review inspired me to finish this chapter. :) Jean'll die. I don't need her so no loss. Pyro is a very special boy. No cameos in this chapter.. but I think he's mentioned like twice but I keep referring to him as John since St. John just bothers me anymore. Hope ya liked this chapter.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing.

And thank you to those who read but don't review.


	38. Adieu Part 5

--

"I need to talk to Gambit. It is an emergency." Hank had said to a certain Pyromaniac the second he walked into the room. "Would you please get him for me?"

Pyro stared at the blue beast as if he had gotten hairier—god forbid. He placed his hands on his hips and snapped his gum. "Your legs aren't broken; you go get him."

Jean, who was now leaning against a table, cocked up both of her brows. Her eyes widened with surprise; she was quite taken back. That Pyro sure had spunk to say something like that at a time like this. Then again, it _was_ Pyro. "I'll go get him." The red head offered quietly on her way to the door, Pyro grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"So, now you think you can do _my_ job? Pyro don't think so."

She shot him a look. Her dark green eyes glared into his green eyes. "You practically just said 'no' to Hank, I just wanted to help."

"I never said 'no.,'" He stated matter-of-factly as he folded his arms over his chest. "I never do anythin' around this popsicle stand without complainin'."

She scrunched up her nose. "You're so rude."

In response, he bowed to her and then saluted at Hank. "One Cajun on rye comin' up, mate!" 

Jean exchanged glances with Hank, "Was he born that way or is this a recent development?"

Hank shrugged, wondering when Pyro had lost his mind; although there probably was plausible evidence he never had one to lose. "The world may never know."

--

"How?" Rogue whispered against the Cajun's velvety smooth lips. She was still flat up against the wall, feeling the warmth of his body against her. Her body felt numb except for the tingling feeling located at the peak of her nose that she wanted to scratch but she didn't dare move. She did; however, she tensed up when she felt his teeth against the bare flesh on the side of her neck. "Rem-Rem.."

"Don't know, Ro'." He answered, regrettably (and unwillingly) moving a step back. He was a ragin' Cajun with ragin' hormones. "An' right now, I don't really care."

Just the way he had said it, in his husky Cajun, made her stomach flutter. "As much as I hate to say it—" He gave her an appraising look, "I do care, Rem. If you can touch me, somethin' ain't right."

"Maybe it's fate."

"Maybe somethin' is wrong."

"You're still a girl scout, Ro'." Remy chuckled as he slowly took another step back. "Yet, there's somethin' about you.."

She smiled at him as she took a small step forward, away from the wall. "I do have a charmin' personally." She joked, wrapping her arms around herself.

"That ain't it." He decided, which made her scrunch up her nose and forehead for about two seconds. "Well, I mean, there's just always been—"

"Are ya decent?" A certain orange haired Australian wandered into the small room, one arm stretched out and with the hand from his free arm clasped over his eyes.

"Ya know, if ya shot him, no one would miss him." Rogue muttered, unwrapping her arms as she shook her head.

"I would miss him." Remy then proceeded to stick his tongue out at her. When she gave him a look, he shrugged and added, "Sort of. Kind of. Maybe." They both nearly jumped a mile when the blind sided Pyromaniac walked into a table. "John—take your hand away from your eyes."

"But you never said you were decent!"

"Okay, so I wouldn't." The Cajun, who looked slightly aggravated, said sharply at Rogue. "What do you want, John?"

"Decent?"

"Yes, I'm decent." He grumbled, running a hand through his hair. Rogue stifled a chuckle. "Now—"

"The Beastie boy wants to ch-check you out." Pyro then crossed his eyes, uncrossed them and then laughed. "Nah, he wants to talk to ya, mate! He said it was an elephant."

"An elephant?"

Pyro, who now looked dumbfounded, blinked. "No thanks. I already ate. You better go talk to Hanky-panky before he has a hernia."

Remy sighed, and walked towards the door. "Watch him." He said to Rogue before leaving.

Pyro said 'I will' as he stared blankly at Rogue. After a few seconds, he squinted at her. "Hey Absorbent Girl, is that a love bite on your neck?"

Rogue rolled her eyes and sighed heavily as she quickly exited the room. There was no way she was going to stand in a small room with that boy.

"Vacuum?" He had called after her, walking out right behind her.

--

Hank felt as if the weight of the world was on him. First Kitty and then Scott. He didn't have much time for Kurt. As a blue chemical in a test tube began to boil over the Bunsen burner, Remy walked in. Jean had left a mere minute earlier to get something to eat. She was most likely going to breakdown over whatever she was eating when she remembered something about her dear Cyclops.

"The messenger said you wanted to talk to me?" Remy slurred lazily, leaving out the part about the elephant. He wasn't too sure about that. Hell, he knew _Pyro_ wasn't too sure about that.

"Firstly, how are you feeling, Gambit?" Hank glanced over at the boiling chemical before looking over at him with a twitching eye.

Remy opened his mouth to say something but instead he thought about it. Lately, he had been feeling like his old self. Almost, at least. "Pretty good." Said the mutant who was infected with a mutant killing virus.

"I need to talk to you about what happens, before and after you were injected with—"

"Hank, I can barely remember what I had for breakfast."

"This is important, Gambit. The virus isn't affecting you the way it is with the others."

"You mean it ain't killin' me?"

"This is all very complicated. I need to find out what you aren't being affected like the others."

Remy sucked in air, "You think it could have some weird effect on my mutant gene?"

"Precisely."

"Hey, y'all busy?" Rogue stood in the doorway. Although her face was expressionless, Remy could see the annoyed look in her eyes. He did, however, miss the small, oval shaped bruise on her neck. "I have a feelin' I interrupted somethin'."

"Actually Rogue, I'd still have to obtain a blood sample from you."

"What?" Remy suddenly asked, giving both Hank and Rogue an absurd look. "You never got _tested_?" He asked Rogue, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Are you nuts? There's a chance you could have.."

Pyro appeared behind Rogue. "Got tested for what? HIV? AIDS? STDS? Roguey, how could you?"

Although he was kidding, Rogue elbowed him in the stomach as she turned on her heel. "I need a goddamn cigarette."

"Hey!" Remy walked after her, "If I can't smoke, you sure as hell aren't."

"Wait—I need to talk to you about.." Hank groaned, burying his face into his large hands. "Nothing ever goes as planned."

"Well, duh." Pyro said, rubbing his stomach with a pained look on his face. "You're better off separating the two drongos. And Panky, your test tube is overflowing."

--

"Everything is so messed up." Rogue sat in the elevator, leaning against Remy.

"You should have gotten tested." He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gently ran his fingertips up and down her upper arm. "Just to make sure, you know?" Well, apparently she didn't know. Rogue just mumbled something, not caring too much. "Hank thinks I was affected differently than the others. Think I should tell him I can.."

"You have to."

"No, I don't. Lets run away."

"Fun. Maybe Trask'll catch us again. He is still out there, y'know. Plottin' against mutants.."

"I bet he's a mutant who got a lousy power. Jealous of us, the mutants with the nifty powers."

Rogue shifted uncomfortably. "Some aren't so nifty, LeBeau."

"Shootin' lasers out of your eyes wasn't anywhere nifty to begin with anyway."

"They were optic blasts."

"Ooh, sorry. Didn't mean to offend you." He teased with a smirk. As he was about to say something else, a ding was heard and the elevator door opened. Jean walked in, looking as _stoned_ as ever. When she saw the two, tears sprung out of her eyes, she wailed 'SCOTT' and ran away. "Wow. She's really annoyin'.."

"She has a right to be, I mean.."

"If I croaked, would you act like that?" He asked softly as the doors closed. He glanced down at her, waiting for a response.

"Nah. But I'd host the after part of your funeral."

"Don't lie."

"Oh yes, Rem-Rem. I'd be an emotional wreck. I'd cry, smoke four packs of cigarettes a day, and every night I'd save you the chicken leg, waitin' for you to come home although you're six feet under and have bugs crawling all over your luscious body and eatin' your insides." After a moment of silence, they both made a face. "You're goin' to be okay, aren't ya Rem?"

"'Dunno. We better go have a chinwag with Hank though." They slowly got to their feet. When they did, they stood face-to-face. "I still want you to get tested."

"Fine." She mumbled, not in the mood to argue. He then leaned in and softly pressed his lips against her. She jolted back when she felt a spark. Not from pain, but from being surprised. "Stupid static electricity."

"Yeah." Remy mumbled, scratching his chin as he reached over to press a button on the panel. "Stupid static electricity."

--

Meh, good enough.. I went ten-ish days without my computer because it died. Now it's back although it was formatted before I could save anything.. =( There's going to be two more parts (So, Adieu Part 6 will be the last chapter.)


	39. Adieu Part 6

--

Pyro screamed.

A syringe went flying.

Remy ducked behind a metal stool.

Hank staggered back.

A metal tray with a wrapper from a syringe and a needle went flying and hit the ground.

A sheepish Rogue sat on a table with the sleeve to her purple shirt rolled up. Her brows were arched up and her mouth formed an 'o' shape. "Opps."

"Who needs a bloody virus when you have _her_?" Pyro asked, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his orange visor and slipped it on. "Need protection to be around this girl." He shot a look at Remy, who was now standing up, but still had the stool in front of him. "Right, mate?"

"Why are you still here?" Remy asked, tightening his jaw as he glared daggers at Pyro.

 "Rogue, I hadn't even touched you with it yet. You certainly did scare me." Hank said, sighing. "I don't have time to deal with this. I have too much work to do."

"Good." Rogue unrolled her sleeve and hopped off the table. "I have things to see, people to do." No one bothered to correct her, although Remy was tempted to as he smirked at her. His smirk quickly faded.

"Wait, what if she has the virus? What if that's why her powers—"

"I'm not, all right? And you were Rem. For all we know, you can croak right now."

Pyro cleared his throat, "Which I'd rather you not since I did just sweep the floor for Hanky-Panky." He cleared his throat yet again, "Speaking of hanky-panky.."

"Pyro, would you be ever so kind and go get me a cup of coffee down from the kitchen." Hank asked.

            "Are you tryin' to get rid of me?"

            "Afraid so."

            "Okay! As long as you're honest." Laughing, he skipped out of the room. Hank then looked at Rogue and Remy.

            "We can take a hint, c'mon Rem."

            "Actually, I'd like to obtain another blood sample from Gambit."

            Rogue just shrugged, "Better him than me."

            Remy smirked, walking over towards her, "C'mon Ro', I'll show you how a real man handles it."

            --

            "Baby." Rogue walked out of the medical wing, ahead of Remy who was rubbing his arm.

            "It was a big needle." He stated, pressing the button to the elevator. "At least I didn't scream."

            "No, but you did cry."

            "I didn't cry." He pulled her towards him and locked his arm around her waist. He lowered his head down towards her. "And if I was, you're supposed to kiss my boo-boo."

            Rogue cracked a smile, "You said boo-boo." She licked her lips as his head moved inward. On timing, the elevator doors opened. A pale, and frantic Pyro raced out.

            "Where's Panky?" He asked, his eyes were wide as he walked into the doors that lead to the medical wing. They opened towards you, so when he walked into them, he fell back onto his back. "And where's—where's—Peeohmyowntar?"

            "You all right?" Rogue asked, breaking away from Remy to help him up. What? Was Rogue showing concern for the dear pyromaniac? "I mean, not that you ever are in the right state of mind." Okay, maybe not.

            "The gal with the red hair.." Pyro said slowly, staring up at the ceiling with an expressionless face. "Said that if Scott was dead, she was dead."

            "Aw, damn. I'll go make sure she doesn't make a mess, Rem, you pick up Fire-boy." With a sigh, Rogue got onto the elevator.

            "You all right?" Remy asked, helping his friend to his feet. "You don't look so good."

            "I'm not sure."

            Now, Remy was concerned.

            --

            "Here Jean." Rogue called, walking down the stairs, "C'mon girl." She walked around, not stopping the red head in the kitchen or in any of the downstairs rooms.  Rogue brought her finger up to her chin, "Hmm. If I were an obsessive, suicidal psychopath where would I be? Other than in the psych ward?" The answer never came to her.

            --

            "Want a lollipop?"

            "No."

            "Candy?"

            "No."

            "Ice cream?"

            "No."

            "A foot massage?"

            "No."

            "A haircut?"

            "N—what's wrong with my hair?" Pyro asked, patting the top of his wild, tangled up mop of hair. He was sitting against the wall, his pal Remy was seated next to him.

            "Nothin'." Remy sighed, defeated. Something seemed out of place with Pyro. "Penny for your thoughts?" He tried.

            "Where's the penny?" Pyro asked, his expression solemn.

            "It's an expression."

            "But where's the penny?" It dawned on him. "Oh, the penny is the expression?"

            "Yeah."

            "I was thinkin' about the red headed gal." John said after a few minutes of silence. "She looked depressed. Unhappy. Sad."

            "Depressed people tend to look unhappy and sad, John." Remy pointed out, feeling he shouldn't have interrupted the pyromaniac. "She lost a team mate and her little one eyed lover." He felt better about interrupting after saying that, although he realized Scott did have two eyes but John probably didn't even know that.

            "Would you kill yourself if Rogue died?" Pyro asked bluntly, turning to see the Cajun's expression.

            Remy felt like killing himself when he had nearly killed Rogue when his powers first manifested. "I don't know." He answered, not wanting to tell him the truth, "I guess it would be under the circumstances."

            John rolled his eyes, "You're just avoidin' the truth, mate."

            "When did you become a psychiatrist?" Remy asked testily, darting his eyes forward. "Quit all the psych shit and just tell me why you're actin' all strange and sane."

            "Just thinkin' 'bout the past an' all."

            "Back when you lived in Australia?"

            Pyro nodded numbly. In a beat, he stood up. "C'mon mate, let's go visit Panky!"

            Remy's eye twitched. He watched Pyro wander off into the medical wing, not bothering to wait for his Cajun friend. He sighed heavily as he slowly suffered separation anxiety and just wished Rogue was sitting next to him.

            As if on clue, the elevator door opened and Rogue walked out, "Couldn't find Jean." She said without much care or thought because the only good Jean is a MIA Jean, or even perhaps a _dead_ Jean.

            "She's probably tryin' to drown herself in a sink. Come here." Rogue walked over to him and was instantly pulled down. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed. "John depresses me."

            "Really?" Rogue asked, shifting weight so she could sit sideways in his lap comfortably. "'Cause he annoys the hell out of me."

            "That's because you don't know him." Remy mumbled, kissing the side of her mouth. "He has a serious side too, y'know."

            Rogue shivered in his arms, which just made him tighten his grip around her. The skin-to-skin contact was making her paranoid; she kept thinking she could absorb him any second.

            "You're tense." Remy stated as he softly kiss her jaw line. Inhaling deeply, Rogue relaxed. She rested herself against his chest with his chin resting on top of her head. After a few seconds of feeling his chest rise and then fall, Rogue fell into a slumber. Remy just smiled down at her. Just as his eyes started to close, the medical wing doors opened.

            "Will you two get a room?" Pyro, who looked excited, now stared down at the two with a cocked brow.

            "Shh. She's sleepin'." Remy hushed him, but Rogue stirred anyway.

            "Not anymore."

            Pyro just shrugged his shoulders. "C'mon. Panky is injectin' the blue hairball with something. He said he thinks it'll help 'im." Suddenly, he brought his hands up to his nose and whiffed them. He made a face and stuck out his tongue. "Oh, man! These little fellas smell like sardines."

            "Did you eat sardines?" Remy dared to ask as Rogue got to her feet and then helped him to his.

            "No." John answered curtly, as he shrugged again.

            After exchanging glances with Rogue, Remy coughed, "I don't want to know. Lets just go see Panky—_Hanky_."  He corrected himself, giving Pyro a stern look. He placed his hand on Rogue's lower back as they walked into the medical wing, leaving Pyro standing there.

            "_What_?"

            --

            He looked like a blue, fuzzy stuffed animal.

            Rogue stared down at Kurt, her eyes wide. "You're just goin' to experiment on him?" She asked, giving Pank—_Hank_ an incredulous look. "That's no better than what they did to—"

            "I already ran the formula with a blood sample I obtained by him, Rogue." Hank eyed the two Southerners. "And I believe there is something the three of us need to talk about." He referred to the fact that Remy had his arm around Rogue's shoulders and his bare arm was touching the skin on her neck.

            --

            "Were you treated differently than anyone else?" Hank stood in front of Remy, writing things down on a chart.

            Remy shrugged his shoulders, glancing over at Rogue who was standing near the doorway. "I was treated like a mutant." Anger flashed in his crimson red eyes. "They did want to use Rogue and I to experiment differently." He shifted weight from one leg to the other as Rogue's eyes met his. He was reminded of Elvis. No, not by looking at Rogue. He was just reminded of the lad.

            Hank raised a furry brow. "What do you mean _differently_?"

            "Well, I could go find Trask and ask him to fresh my memory." Remy said, rolling his eyes. "I can't remember. It had something to do with just gettin' the royal treatment of dyin' from the damn virus."

            "Gambit, It affected you differently.."

            "Well, _duh_!" Rogue suddenly spoke up, taking a step forward. "We know that since he ain't lyin' on a bed, on a respirator waitin' to die. Stop tellin' us that an' just get to the damn details."

            Remy smirked. _That's my Rogue. _

            --

            "Do you have any three's?" It was quite boring playing Go Fish when you have one card and the other person doesn't have that card.

            "Not since the last time you asked." Piotr stated, "Sorry, comrade. Go fish. Do you have any queen's?"

            Pyro flashed him his three of spades card. "Does it look like I have any queen's?"

            "I was just asking." Piotr said, reaching down to pick up a card from the pile. "I will take that as a 'Go Fish,' if you do not mind."

            Pyro sighed and leaned back in his chair as he flicked his card down. "I give up."

            "Do you want to play another game?"

            "I want to get out of here. I want to.." Pyro let out an aggravated sigh and threw himself on the ground. He just stayed there, on the ground, in a fetal position.

            Piotr glanced at the card he had picked up; It was a threes card.

            --

            "You think it _what_ his _what_?" Rogue asked, wrinkling up her nose in confusion. "Is that dangerous? Is he goin' to end up blowin' us up?" She looked over at Remy, "Do you know what he said?"

            "The virus is weak, meaning the host has to be in a weakened form for the virus to take effect." Hank stated, wondering what was so hard about any of this. "Gambit was in tip-top shape. Instead, the virus just worked with his x-gene, advancing his powers."

            Remy just nodded towards the Beast. "What he said."

            "So, Rem is okay?" Rogue asked, unsure of what to say. When Hank nodded, Rogue hugged her dear Cajun. "You are _never_ smokin' again."

            "What does smokin' have to do with it?"

            "Well, if I didn't lose you to a mutant killin' virus I sure ain't losin' you to cigarettes."

            Hank just smiled at the couple. "I believe Remy's powers have created a force field of some sort not allowing you to absorb him." He cleared his throat, "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go check up on Kurt."

            --

            Ororo tapped gently on Jean's bedroom door. "Jean?" She called out, opening the door. "How are you holding up, child?"

            The red head was lying on her bed, holding Scott's glasses to her chest.

            Ororo walked over to her, and shook her gently. "Jean?"

            Jean wasn't going to wake up.

            You know why?

            Jean was dead.

            Hold your applause, please.

            --

            He gently ran his fingertips down the side of her cheek. It just felt so soft, he found himself doing it repeatedly until Rogue pushed his hand away.

            "I'm tryin' to sleep." Several hours later, Rogue was lying in her bed, trying to fall asleep, which wasn't working with a certain Cajun's hands always touching her skin. She was happy about that, but she couldn't shake off the eerie feeling of the skin-to-skin contact. "Rem?" She whispered, turning around to face him. He was sitting at the side of her bed and had been hovering above her.

            "Yeah?"

            "Are you goin' to join the X-Men?" She asked softly as she placed her hand over his.

            "I-I don't know. Haven't thought about it." He answered, biting down on his lower lip. "Are you goin' to stay here?"

            Rogue suddenly looked uncomfortable. A lump was forming in her throat as she sat up. "I like it here. I know it ain't really me, but the X-Men are sort of kind of like family to me." Her eyes darted down to her lap. "If I want to stay here, are you goin' to leave?"

            Remy didn't answer.

            --

            The next chapter = epilogue.


	40. Epilogue

             --

            The howling of the wind from outside rattled the windows. Rogue sunk deeper into her bed, pulling the sheets up higher.

            "It's all right." She whispered into the darkness as she stared up at the ceiling to see light flicker, from the lightning shooting place to place outside. "You don't have to answer."

            He stared at her; his eyes glowed dimly in the darkness of the room. _Open mouth. Insert foot. _He said to himself as he shook his head, "I don't know, Ro'. Life has screwed us over several times in the past few years. Who knows how we'll end up in the end?" There goes our partly optimistic Remy.

            "We're together."

            "This isn't the end." He reached over and cupped the side of her face. When her eyes watered up, he grimaced. "Don't look at me like that."

            "You're cravin' a cigarette." She stated simply, ignoring his statement like she hadn't heard it.

            "Now that you bring it up.." He leaned in, his eyes locked on hers. "I'm cravin'.. you." He lowered his head for a simple kiss, but Rogue jerked away in the other direction and ended up falling out of the bed.

            She lay on the floor, her legs propped up on the bed. "Wow. It's much cooler down here."

            Remy, however, cocked a suspicious and confused brow. "Rogue?" On his hands and knees, he crawled off the bed and collapsed on the ground next to her. "Remember when I hid under your bed?"

            Rogue was silent for a moment before the corners of her lips tugged back into a smile. "Yeah. Ya waited until I stepped down an' grabbed my ankle. Ya scared me shitless."

            Remy reached over and tugged a ringlet of hair. "Remember how you got me back?"

            Her smile widened. "I tied ya to a chair an' applied make-up to your face. You looked so pretty." A small laugh escaped her pink lips. "An' the make-up wouldn't wash off. Your face was so red from the rubbin' of the make-up and from blushin' when Irene walked into the bathroom to see what all the commotion was."

            He smirked as he rolled over onto his back. "The 'commotion' was you yellin' 'hush' and me screamin' bloody murder. You were a violent ten year old; you nearly scrubbed all the flesh off my face."

            "Hey," She yawned, glancing over at him, "Your face turned out all right, didn't it?" Sliding her legs off the bed, she turned around and sat with her back pressed up against the bed. "Remember the time when _someone_ put green dye in Bella's apple shampoo an' conditioner?"

            Remy just smiled as he stared up at the ceiling. "She blamed me for that, y'know. She tried to throw the bottle at my eye when I said the color brought out her eyes."

            Rogue chuckled as he brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them, "Yeah. Your eyebrow was dyed green for a week. Good thing her aim sucked." Grunting, Remy sat up and slid over next to her. "Wow. Usually when we discuss Bella, you usually look like someone just tickled your fancy the wrong way."

            "_'Tickled my fancy the wrong way'_?"

            "Oh, shut it. I'm kind of tired." Unwrapping her arms from around her legs, she elbowed him. Lightly laughing, she leaned against him. "Remember when—"

            "You knocked out my last baby tooth?" He finished, glancing sideways at her.

            She elbowed him, again. "Only 'cause ya flushed my bear necklace down the toilet."

            "An' I only did that 'cause you pushed me into the swamp."

            "An' Ionly did _that_ 'cause you put a scoop of ice cream down the back of my shirt."

            "Good memories, neh?"

            In response, Rogue let out a loud yawn. "Yeah," She agreed sheepishly. "Some more than others."

            "Like the time we got locked in the basement overnight?" Slowly, he put his arm around her shoulders and just let it lay there. "An' like the time Jean-Luc told me I was goin' to marry Bella?" He wrinkled up his nose at that memory.

            "What do you think she'd do if she saw us now?"

            "Probably chase us with a fryin' pan."

            "We could always stick Pyro on 'er." Rogue started to trace patterns on his side as she rested her head on his shoulder. "They'd probably like each other; they're both insane an'.." She started mumbling something about 'antipsychotics' as her eyelids started closing.

            Remy grunted as he slid out from under her, while keeping a firm grip around her shoulders so she wouldn't fall over. Smirking, he slipped his other arm under her knees and picked her up. "Got sleep?" He joked, half-heartedly as he set her down on the bed.

            "I ain't tired.." She muttered; her eyes still closed as she patted the empty space next to her, on the other side. When he laid down next to her, she turned over onto her side so she was facing him. "Ya should write your father a letter."

            "You must be delirious. Go to bed." Supporting himself on his elbows, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. "G'night _cherie_." 

            "_Manger merde et mourir_."

            Remy chuckled, lying back down. "Do you have any idea on what you just said?"

            "No." She answered, yawning, "Enlighten me." He reached over and whispered in her ear. In a beat, her eyes popped open, "I didn't mean _that_." 

            "Then what did you mean?" He asked, amused. Rogue just cupped his cheek, brought his head in closer, and kissed his lips.

            "Goodnight, _cher_." With those words, she rolled around, with her back facing him, and closed her eyes. She heard him chuckle and roll around, onto his stomach, which she knew was his favorite sleeping position.

            After a few minutes of hearing him inhale and exhale, Rogue realized she wasn't as tired as she was just minutes earlier. Things just seemed so different.

            _First Kitty dies, then Scott and Jean overdoses on pills. We lost three X-men all in the matter of two days. _Kitty had been like an annoying younger sister to her, while Scott was like an annoying older brother and Jean was like the annoying older brother's extremely annoying wife. What a dysfunctional family. _I just hope Kurt can at least be saved. _She bit down on her lower lip. _What would have I done if Remy died? _That was something she didn't want to think about.

            "Go to sleep, Ro'." She heard Remy mumbled. Rogue could sense the smile lingering on his lips. "Remember, no sleep and a lot of worryin' leaves Remy with a cranky Rogue."

            She scrunched her nose up as she kicked him. She'd get him back for that—tomorrow.

            --

            The next morning, John sat out in the hallway of the room he was staying in, trying to tie his shoelaces. He was hunched over, staring down at the two long strings on his left shoe. "Somethin' 'bout bunny ears goin' around a tree.." He was trying to remember the rhyme his mother taught him when he was a wee little Pyromaniac to tie his shoes but, evidently, it never worked. "Maybe.. two bunny ears.. went around a tree.. and lit it on fire!" He then proceeded to laugh hysterically. After several minutes, he realized he wasn't getting anywhere so he stood up and dragged his feet over to Rogue's room.

            --

            "Ahh! Your bed is on fire!" Pyro screamed when he got into Rogue's room to see the two Southerners soundly sleeping. When Remy sat up and looked around, Pyro walked over to him. "Will you tie my shoes?" He asked, giving the Cajun a pleading look. "_Puh-lease_? And please don't blow 'em up."

            "Can't you get him Velcro?" Came Rogue's muffled voice from under her pillow, which her head was buried underneath. "And make him go away!"

            Remy just grunted as he tried to tie John's shoes as he shoved his untied shoes into his face. Since he had his shoes on his feet while he shoved them into the Cajun's face, we should now be able to determine that the pyromaniac is talented.  Gritting his teeth, Remy tied both shoes.

            After John happily skipped out of the room, Rogue sat up and stared at Remy with amused eyes. "Puttin' your skilled hands to use, eh, _Mistah_ LeBeau? I hope you'll be my shoe tier."

            "Shut up."

            "But I can't tie shoes as great as you can!"

            "Shut up." He reached over and grabbed the pillow she was holding in her lap and hit her with it.

            "Hey!" She glare at him, her hair sprawled across her face. "It's not my fault you're such a great tier. Can you lace up shoes too? 'Cause I have a bunch in the closet that need to be laced up."

            "Just for that, Ro', I'm—I'm—" He was cut off when Rogue grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him forward. She pushed her weight against him so he hit the bed first, underneath hers, and she rested her upper body on his upper body.

            "You're what?" She asked sweetly, running her hand back though her wild mane of hair so it wasn't in her face anymore. "Gonna tie my shoelaces in a double knot I can't get out?"

            He just smirked. "I don't know how I ever put up with you."

            "Ahh, must be love." She rolled off him and laid there next to him, on her back. He turned over onto his side, facing her.  

            "Things sure have changed, haven't they?"

            Rogue nodded solemnly, glancing sideways at him. "And it all started with your eyes."

            "And then a big explosion."

            "And then the X-Men."

            "And then Magneto."

            "And then.." Rogue rolled her eyes as she folded her arms underneath her head. "It's more like, 'I left you to go join Magneto.'"

            Remy reached over and placed a hand at the side of her face. "It was a mistake."

            "And if you leave.." She bit down on her lower lip. "I won't even say it."

            "Tryin' to make me feel bad?"

            "Yes. Is it workin'?"

            In response, he laughed, which wasn't the answer she was looking for.

            "Are you two goin' to sleep around with each other for the rest of the day?" Pyro asked, yelling from outside the room.

            Rogue sat up, "That's _it_. The red hair boy is _mine_."

            --

            It was all a dream.

            At least, that's what it was like in Rogue's head. Nothing seemed real. All the powers she absorbed from mutants were erased, but not forgotten, thanks to the Professor.

            Three X-Men had died, two from the virus, one from suicide.

            Nothing would ever be the same.

            Irene and Mystique had disappeared, possibly never to be heard from again. Maybe not, only the future can tell.

            "Uncle, uncle! I won't call you Super-Absorbant Girl anymore, I promise!"  

            Remy sighed, walking away from Rogue, who had Pyro in a headlock. "'Lo Piotr." He greeted, seeing his friend standing outside the medical wing.

            "Good morning, Remy." The Russian said, staring at the grey doors leading into the medical wing. "This is quite an awful thing, is it not, comrade?"

            Remy's brows just rose a little. "Thinkin' 'bout Kitty?"

            Piotr gave him a curt nod. "I was told never to hate anyone, but against those wishes, I have to admit I hate Trask. He killed innocent mutants." He glanced over at Remy, his dark eyes flashing with anger. "It is not fair."

            "Life ain't fair." Remy glanced back at Rogue and Pyro. He made a mental note to stop Rogue when blood was shed. "Are you joinin' the X-Men?"

            "Yes, I am."

            "And John?"

            "I am not quite sure of what John wants, or what he does."

            Remy scratched the back of his head. "I don't think any of us are either."

            "What about you? Are you going to join the X-Men?"

            "Ain't sure. I don't really like joinin' sides."

            "You'll stay." Piotr stated, "You know you will. Unless Rogue is leaving."

            "Nope, she's stayin'."

            Piotr just gave him a small smile. "You know you will be staying here."

            "I have a hankerin' he will." Rogue slipped an arm around his waist. His arm rested alongside her shoulders as he stared down at her.

            "Oh, really?"

            "You'll suffer separation anxiety if you leave me." She stated, sticking her tongue out at him.

            "Notice how they always act so nice and childish around each other but when they're not together they'll all mean and sarcastic?" Pyro pointed out, making a face at the couple as he rubbed the top of his head. "I'll never understand 'em!"

            "It's love, John. It's not meant to be understood." Piotr stated, looking down at the ground. He was surprised when Pyro patted his shoulder.

            "Don't worry, Pee-oh-taur. You'll always have me."

            Colossus smiled over at him, "Thank you."

            Rogue looked up at Remy, "So?"

            "So what?"

            _'X-Men, guests, please report to my office.' _Xavier's voice penetrated their minds.

"The voices are back!" Pyro squealed, falling to his knees.

            --

            Rogue and Remy stood next to each other in the cramped office. Remy was holding Rogue against him, his cheek pressed up against the back of her head.

            "Ray, you're standing on my foot!" Amara accused, pushing Ray away from her.

            "That's not me, It's Roberto!"

            "It's not me, man. It's Jamie!"

            "It's not me.. oh, wait.. yes it is."

            "I never want to have kids." Rogue mumbled as Rhane, in her werewolf form, raced past her.

            "You won't be sayin' that when you hold a little tyke in your arms." Remy smirked, "But I agree, none less."

            "I have some good news." Xavier announced, all the talking stopped as he spoke, "Hank made an antidote and Kurt is doing fine."

            _'Too bad Hank is two people too late.' _Rogue said to herself, and then mentally kicked herself since Xavier most likely read her projected thought.

            "There will be a memorial service for Kitty, Scott, and Jean." Xavier sounded sad, but he has a good reason to sound sad, right?

            The Professor said a few other words, but Rogue had barely paid attention.

            --

            "I ain't leavin'." Remy announced to Rogue as he walked outside where Rogue sat, skimming through a magazine. It had been several hours since the meeting in the office and both Southerners had left mansion ground but now, both were back.

            "I know." The Southern belle stated without much thought. "So, you're stickin' 'round here?" She asked as he sat down next to her on the grassy ground.

            "Talked to the Prof. Told 'im I wasn't interested in joinin' his team of spandex super mutants. He took that quite well an' told me he understood that I wanted to stay here with you."

            "Well, he's a telepath. He knew you were thinkin' that." Rogue closed the magazine and took out a bag from the pocket of her brown leather jacket. "I got ya somethin'."

            "I got ya somethin' too." Remy said, reaching into his trench coat inside pocket. "I even paid for it," He stated proudly as he handed her a small jewelry box. Rogue placed the bag on his lap and opened the box to see a small bear charm on a chain.

            "I can't believe you," She laughed, her green eyes sparkling with happiness. That's the look Remy had wanted to see. Smiling, he picked up the bag and opened it.

            "I can, however, believe you," He laughed, holding the box of nicotine patches in his hand.

            "You're not getting cancer on my watch, Rem-Rem."

            --

            I decided to end it there because of the starting line in the first chapter. All done. –blinks-

_            All done?_

            Yes, this was the epilogue. Which is why it is entitled, 'epilogue.'

            Will there be a sequel?

            Maybe. This was my last project since my computer got reformatted.

            And yes..

            Ding-dong, Jean is indeed dead.

            Thanks for putting up with me, guys. And thanks for reviewing! Cookies for everyone!

            By the way, if I don't have anything new up in a few weeks, will any of you send me threatening e-mails telling me to post something? :) I'd appreciate it.


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